Dangerous Liaisons
by AnnaElizabethx
Summary: Despite his pro-human leanings, Godric thought that if he ever fell in love it would be with a powerful vampire like himself. Imagine his surprise when a very human, very ordinary girl captures his attention. Godric/OC. Set a year or so before his death in season 2.
1. Chapter 1

_Prologue_

I struggle to concentrate on the conversation as Aimee and Alex describe their honeymoon to us in much more detail than any of us want, but they're so enthusiastic about it that none of us have the heart to stop them. I still can't quite believe that they're married. We are only eighteen, after all. I raise a hand to my forehead and press my palm against it.

"Are you ok?" Aimee demands immediately, looking worried.

"I'm fine." I say, smiling. And I am. I'm just struggling to keep up with the flow of the conversation, but that's nothing to be worried about. It's a regular symptom, apparently. It's a little irritating but not as irritating as everyone tiptoeing around me like I'm made of glass.

"Are you sure?" Aimee asks, leaning forward. Everyone is watching me closely now, like they think I might collapse or something.

"Positive."

Alex launches into a description of a beach that he and Aimee visited and the attention is shifted back to him, thank goodness. It's been like this ever since the car crash, with everyone walking on egg shells around me. I got pretty banged up in the crash and am now suffering from retrograde amnesia. I don't remember the crash or the months leading up to it. Thankfully, I've got a handful of close friends who have filled me in on what I've forgotten, but they're still treating me like I'm made of glass. I shouldn't complain, really, it's good of them to care. I'm grateful, I really am, I'm just a little frustrated, what with losing eleven months of memories and all.

I realise a few seconds late that everyone has fallen silent and are all staring at something that I can't see. I follow their gazes and turn around to find that the subject of their fixation is a boy around our age. He's very pale with dark hair. He's wearing a linen shirt that's open a little way down his chest and I can see a tattoo that spans across his chest. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up above his elbows and he's got a tattoo on his left arm as well. He's walking towards us, his gaze fixed on the floor. I turn back around and my friends, all four of them, are still staring fixatedly at the boy. Aimee's eyes flicker worriedly to me and then back to the boy. I frown.

"Do you know him?" I ask as I turn back around. The boy has stopped in his tracks, perhaps he sensed our stares, and is now staring right back us. I give him a small smile before turning my back on him.

"Stop staring!" I hiss at them and slowly they cease staring and turn back to the table.

"Do you guys know that boy?" I ask again and they all hastily shake their heads. "Then why are you all staring?" All of them hesitate. Alex is the first one to speak.

"He's a vampire." He says quietly.

"A vampire!" I repeat excitedly. I've never seen an actual vampire before, which is why I'm ridiculously excited. I glance back to see that the boy is now walking in the opposite direction, away from us. He turns back and catches my eye. Even from this distance I can see that he's beautiful. Really beautiful in an understated kind of way. Beautiful doesn't mean harmless though. I'm sure that he has the power to obliterate every single person in the vicinity in mere moments. It's morbidly fascinating.

"Stop staring at him." Mark mutters, pulling at me.

"I was just looking." I protest in defence. "I'm curious."

"About what?"

"Vampires! They're impossible yet here they are. I just think it's interesting is all."

"Keep away from the vamps, babe. Your daddy will have a heart attack if you come home a fangbanger."

"A _fangbanger?_" I repeat incredulously, laughing. "I said that they were interesting, not that I wanted to start sleeping with them. Not that there's anything wrong with that but as of right now I have no interest in being with a vampire."

"Good." Marks mutters. "Let's keep it that way."

I turn back to find that the vampire has disappeared. That's a shame, I would have liked to have seen him up close, him being my first vampire and all.


	2. Chapter 2

_Eleven months earlier_

I sit at the bar, clutching my drink between my hands. Coming out to a bar on my own probably wasn't the best idea I've ever had but I was just so eager to try out my fake ID. I was convinced that it wouldn't work, but here I am. I can't help the way I keep glancing around nervously; I'm as far away from home as my father would allow, which isn't actually that far, but I'm far enough away to gain some degree of independence, at least, but I keep expecting him to come barging through the door, yelling about everything from the President to damn vampires before dragging me by my hair back home. My father isn't really a fan of the vampires. In fact, if it were up to him he'd have them rounded up and set fire to. Charming man, my dad.

Speaking of vampires, there's a group of men sat on a table to my right talking about them louder than is strictly necessary. They all have tankards of beer sat before them. I have a feeling that it's not their first and it certainly won't be their last. They seem like a raucous group of men and I feel a little uncomfortable being so near them, especially with them voicing their anti-vampire beliefs so loudly. Personally, I don't have a problem with vampires. I try not to judge a group of people, or in this case, a whole different species, by the actions of a mere few. Yes, there have been numerous news stories about humans being brutally murdered by vampires, but there are humans who kill other humans, too!

They seem to be against fangbangers, too. I don't like that term. Fangbangers. It's insulting in my opinion, but hey, what do I know?

I'm just finishing off my second glass when I notice a boy around my age at the other end of the bar. He's got pale skin and dark hair. He's staring down at his hands which are clasped together atop of the bar. He doesn't look particularly happy.

Almost as if he senses me staring, he looks up suddenly and I turn my attention back to my drink, which is almost gone. When I'm sure that he's gone back to staring at his hands, I chance a glance back over at him and I take notice of the bottle that's sat in front of him. Tru Blood. He reaches for the bottle and takes a swig from it, looking pointedly at me and I realise that I've been staring at him openly. Crap. What's wrong with me? He's certainly not the first vampire I've ever seen and I'm sure he won't be the last.

I'm about to order myself another drink when I'm alerted of another presence on the right side of me. When I say alerted I mean that an arm goes around the back of my stool and there's a body all but pressed up against me, far too close for comfort. Oh, if only my dear daddy could see me now, he'd have a heart attack.

"Hey there, sweetheart." I realise that it's one of men that I noticed earlier, the ones who were badmouthing vampires and fangbangers. I can smell the alcohol on this breath and I know that he's very close to being very drunk.

"Hi." I reply politely, shifting myself ever so slightly away.

"What's a lovely little lady like yourself doing out here all alone?"

"Acually, I was just leaving." I say. I so wish I hadn't come alone.

"Aw, so soon? At least let me buy you a drink before you go."

"I'm fine, thank you. I really should be getting back, though." I shift uncomfortably. I wish I could slide off my barstool and make my exit but he's stood so close to me, blocking my escape route and there isn't enough room around the other side. I'm trapped.

"Come on! One drink!" He wheedles in what I suppose he imagines is a persuasive voice. He puts his head a little closer to mine and I have to resist the urge to recoil. "I'll make it worth your while." He murmurs, winking.

This time I can't resist the urge and I recoil away from him. He doesn't seem to notice though. His hand finds my leg and I make to slap it away but he clamps down, his fingers digging into my flesh. "One drink." He says. It sounds more like a threat than an offer.

"Really, I'm f-"

"She said no." Comes a quiet voice and we both turn to find the pale boy, the vampire, stood behind us. He's glaring at the man with such contempt, it's a little alarming.

The man must decide that it's not worth the trouble because his hand releases my leg. He straightens up and moves away from me.

"Fucking vampire." He mutters in disgust before stalking off back to his table. He sits down and starts murmuring angrily to his friends. It's not long before they start throwing dirty glares over at the vampire.

I slip down from my stool and shoulder my bag before standing in front of him. He's taller than me but not by much. "Thank you." I say quietly.

He nods his head in acknowledgement. "You're welcome."

I give him what is probably a rather awkward smile before I rush out of the bar.

* * *

I stop off at the nearest convenience store to pick up a few things before I decide to head back to campus. I don't want to be out too late, after all. I reach for my cell to check the time to find a text from my father, a missed call and a voicemail, both of which I assume to also be from my father. The text, as I knew it would be, is asking me what where I am, what I'm doing and who I'm doing it with. I'm typing a reply, a very dishonest one which tells him that I'm in my room, alone, reading a book, when I'm distracted by a commotion down an alley way across the road. I send my text and pocket my cell before crossing the road. I can hear grunting and the sound of impact. Someone's talking as well. They're not exactly shouting, but their tone is loud and angry enough to get their message across.

I hear the sound of impact again, followed by a sharp intake of breath before a man's voice can be heard.

"Take that, you fucking fanger!" He growls.

Much more bravely than I feel, I step into the entrance of the alleyway and I'm shocked by the sight that meets my eyes: there's a vampire sprawled out on the floor. I think it's the one who defended me in the bar, but I can't be sure, it's hard to make out his face in the dark. I only know it's a vampire because I can see his fangs. Silver chains have been draped across his neck, his wrists and his ankles. There's four men. I recognise one of them as the man who hit on me in the bar. The other three must be his friends. They seem to be taking turns to kick the living shit out of the vampire, and he doesn't seem to be putting up any sort of fight.

Because I owe him and because I never was the sort of person who could walk away from injustice, I decide to swoop in and save the day, though I'm sure that there's not really much that I can do against four angry men.

"What the hell is going on?" I cry with as much force as I can muster.

Four heads turn to face me and the one who hit on me swears. "Run along, missy." He hisses. He wipes the vampire's blood off of his knuckles onto his shirt and pulls back his fist to take another hit.

"I'll call the cops!" Oh, wow. Lame. They're viciously beating up a vampire in an alley, they're hardly going to be intimidated by a teenage girl who's threatening them with the police. Nice work, Thalia. Great job.

To my surprise, though, they all look at each other for a few moments before straightening up.

"Whatever." One of them mutters. I assume that this one is their leader because he gestures to the others and leads them out of the alley way. "This isn't over." He shoots over his shoulder at the vampire before they storm off, leaving me alone in a dark alley way with him. I wait until they're out of sight before I rush to his side. The silver chains have burned into his skin leaving angry red welts.

"Are you ok?" I ask him as I start to gingerly pull the silver chains from his skin. I start with the one across his neck because that one looks like the most painful.

"I'm fine," he replies between gasps of pain. "Thank you."

I remove the chains from his wrists and then his ankles before looking at him. I was right, it is the vampire from the bar. I smile. "Well, you saved my ass back in that bar, I kind of owe you one."

He pushes himself up into a sitting position. "Well, consider the debt repaid." He replies as he rubs his wrists. The gashes left by the chains are gone but perhaps they still hurt. I stand up and offer him my hand. He stares at it for a few seconds and I realise that he's probably strong enough to pull himself up. He is a vampire, after all. I make to retract my hand, feeling foolish, but he takes it and pulls himself up. He certainly is surprisingly strong, especially for someone so young. Then again, he could be hundreds of years old. How would I know?

"What's your name?" He asks me.

"Thalia. What's yours?"

"Godric."


	3. Chapter 3

Though still covered in his own blood, Godric doesn't seem to be in any pain. His wounds have healed and he doesn't seem any worse off. Except for his shirt which is covered in unsightly red stains. I offer him my jacket and he politely declines. Probably because he doesn't want to be seen walking the streets in a woman's coat. I don't suppose that wearing a girl's jacket screams 'powerful vampire' as much as bloodstained clothing does.

"Can I walk you home?" He asks.

"Oh, you don't have to do that." I reply. I hope he doesn't feel some sort of obligation to keep me safe tonight. Like he said, the debt has been repaid.

"I'd like to."

"Oh, uhm, sure. Ok. It's only a couple of blocks away."

He smiles and gestures for me to go first. I give him what I hope is a small smile but what probably looks more like a grimace and exit the alley way. He's by my side instantly and I start making my way down the sidewalk. Out here, under the street lights, he looks a lot worse; the lights seem to illuminate the blood on his shirt and smeared across his face. He doesn't seem too bothered about it, though.

"Do you attend the university?"

"Starting this week, yeah."

"What are you going to study?"

"English and History."

For some inexplicable reason he looks interested. I can't imagine why. It's not like my choice of college subjects is even the tiniest bit interesting.

"Do you know what you want to do after you've graduated?"

I cringe. It's not a remotely personal question. In fact, I get asked this a lot. "I want to be a writer." I mutter, shooting a bashful smile in his direction.

"You're embarrassed." He guesses, frowning. "Why?"

"My dad thinks it's an unrealistic career goal. In fact, most of the people I've spoken to think it is."

"I don't think it's unrealistic." Godric murmurs and I smile. I know that he's probably just saying that but it's nice to hear it anyway.

"He might have just said that to try and stop me from going to college, anyway."

"He doesn't like you leaving home?"

I laugh. Oh, if only it were that simple. "He doesn't like me leaving his line of vision. He's a little overprotective."

"I see." He pauses. "I'm assuming he wouldn't be very happy if he knew that you were walking home in the dark with a vampire?"

"Probably not." I agree. "But what he doesn't know can't hurt him."

For the first time since I laid eyes on him in the bar, he smiles. A genuine smile, one that meets his eyes.

"Are you not frightened of me?"

"Should I be?"

He shoves his hands into his trouser pockets and shrugs. His gaze leaves mine and he fixates on the ground. "Most people are."

"You don't really seem all that frightening." I reply with a smile, though he can't see it.

* * *

We reach my building relatively quickly. I know that we only had to walk two blocks, but still. I feel a little awkward. Rude, even, although it was him who suggested he walk me back.

"Well, this is me." I tell him as we approach the door. I'm not sure if I should invite him inside of something. You know, just to be polite. Maybe I should ask him if he wants to try and get the bloodstains out of his shirt.

"Thalia!"

We both turn to find my new roommate, Chloe, pulling open the door of the building.

"Oh, hey, Chloe."

"I saw you from upstairs, thought I'd come let you in."

Ha. Right. She saw me with Godric and thought she'd come snoop. I'm not entirely sure about Chloe. I don't think she likes me; she sort of sighed when we met and has been relatively cold to me ever since.

"Um, Chloe, this is Godric. Godric, this is Chloe, my roommate."

"It's nice to meet you, Chloe." Godric says with a polite smile.

"Yeah," Chloe replies dismissively, surveying Godric without much interest. She doesn't seem remotely perturbed by the blood on his shirt. Maybe she just doesn't care.

Chloe's appearance has soured the mood. You could cut the awkwardness with a knife.

"I should go. It was nice to meet you, Thalia." He holds out his hand in an oddly formal gesture and I take it. His grip is surprisingly firm but I suppose that's to be expected.

"And you."

He gives me a parting smile before turning on his heel and heading back the way we came. I watch him for a few moments. Chloe clears her throat, reminding me of her presence, and I realise that I've been watching his retreating figure with a stupid smile on my face. Hastily, I wipe my expression clean and step inside.

"You went out to meet a _vampire?_" Chloe demands the moment the door shuts behind me.

"No!" I protest. "I mean, yes, he's a vampire, but I didn't go out specifically to meet him! I just sort of…met him." There's no need to mention the whole fiasco with the assholes in the bar. I have a feeling that Chloe would say that Godric had deserved it, him being a vampire and all.

"Are you out of your mind?" Chloe hisses as we climb the stairs. "He's a _vampire! _He's dangerous!"

"Ok, not all vampires can be that bad, Chloe. They're people, too!"

Her expression suddenly becomes suspicious. "Do you have a crush on him? Is that what this is?"

I almost laugh at that one. Just because I don't immediately hate him for being a vampire, I must have a crush on him? Right.

"No! I'm just not gonna judge him based on what he is. I barely know him."

Chloe throws me a dark look as we reach our floor. "Yeah, well if you want my advice, don't get to know him. I don't wanna come home and find you dead on the floor."

I roll my eyes. I doubt her concern is about my wellbeing as much as it her reputation. What would people think if she became the girl who shared a room with the fangbanger? I dread to think.

Not that I have any intention of doing so, but what if I did want to get to know Godric? Surely that wasn't such a bad thing? But judging by what I'd seen tonight, vampires were about as welcome in Dallas as the Plague.

* * *

_A/N: Relatively boring chapter, I know. I'll get more exciting soon._


	4. Chapter 4

I'm sat in the library, a pad of paper in front of me and my class notes a little to the left. I'm tapping my pen against the paper in irritation as I pour over my notes in an attempt to start the outline of my essay. I glance up at the clock on the wall and see that it's getting late. I should probably head back to my room but it's so hard to concentrate there with Chloe careering around, talking about vampires and bad choices at the top of her voice.

I'm just deciding to pack away my stuff when two girls pass my table. They stare at me for a few moments before turning to whisper to each other. I can't hear what they're saying but I can tell by the looks that they're giving me that it can't be anything good. They're not the first to do that today, either. I've been the recipient of unpleasant glares and people whispering as they walk past all day. Maybe I'm just imagining it. I mean, I've barely been here a week, what on earth could people, people that I've never met before in my life, have to say about me?

I dismiss the glares and the whisperings as paranoia and put my notes and my paper back in my bag before I stand up and hoist it up on my shoulder. I can't wait to get back to my room and just sleep. A group of guys walk past me and one of them whispers something in another's ear. They both look at me and snicker. I frown and subtly reach for my pocket mirror; do I have something on my face? Is that why people keep staring at me and whispering? A quick glance in my mirror shows me that no, I don't have anything on my face. Frowning, I ignore them and head over to the exit. It's then that all becomes apparent. I'm just letting the door swing shut behind me when I hear a jeering call from behind me.

"Fangbanger!"

_What?_

I hear a chorus of laughter and I try to see where it's coming from but the door has closed and I don't have the courage to open it again. Besides, even if I did see who it was, what could I do? I know next to no one on campus. Where did they get 'fangbanger' from, anyway? It seems unlikely that all of them saw me with Godric the other night and even if they did, so what? Am I not allowed to interact with vampires without being branded a whore? This has Chloe written all over it, I think angrily.

* * *

"Oh, hey." Chloe shoots over her shoulder, the epitome of disinterest, when I come through the door.

"Hey." I reply, struggling to keep my voice from wavering; I'm one of those unfortunate people who cries when they're angry. "Good day?"

"It was ok." She gives a non-committal shrug. "You?"

"It was weird, actually."

She doesn't even bother to reply. She's too engrossed in the magazine she's reading, so I continue without waiting for a response.

"People have been staring at me and whispering to each other all day. You haven't heard anything, have you?"

She shakes her head and turns a page. "Nope."

"Really? Because as I was leaving the library someone called me a fangbanger. I'm assuming it has something to do with the other night, with Godric, and you're the only one who knows about that."

I expect her to start spouting lies, about how she'd never tell a soul unless I wanted her to, but she holds her hands up straight away and admits defeat.

"Ok, so I told a few people. So what? Why are you bothered? I thought you liked vampires!" She says defensively.

"A few people! Chloe, people I don't even know are walking past me and laughing! More importantly, I'm not a fangbanger! I met the guy once and I'll probably never see him again!"

"You do have a crush on him, though, don't you?"

I stare at her. "No! I told you that! I barely know him!"

"Oh," she turns her attention back to her magazine. "I thought you said that you did."

I'm fuming. She knows full well that I didn't say that. Clearly she doesn't care who she has to throw under the bus to get popular. I don't want to spend another moment in her presence, so I leave without another word. It's dark out now but I don't care. I'm not staying in the same room as her, not until I've calmed down.

* * *

I end up wandering the streets alone. Not a wise choice but who cares? I certainly don't. I wish I'd gone to a college out of state; if news of this reaches my father then he'll drag me home and lock me in my room until I'm fifty.

"Thalia?"

I turn, surprised by the presence of another being. I'd assumed that I was alone.

"Godric!" I reply. I glance up the street but other than the two of us, it's empty. Good. I don't really want to add any fuel to the flames of the rumour that Chloe started.

"Are you alright?" He asks, surveying my face closely.

I don't know how he can tell that something's up. Maybe he can sense my emotions. Is that a vampire trait? I really wouldn't know.

"I'm fine." I say, more harshly than I intended. "Thank you."

"Are you sure? You look…distressed."

"I said I'm fine, Godric!" I snap at him. He looks a little taken aback and I immediately feel guilty. It's not his fault that my roommate is a bitch. "I'm sorry, I've had a bad day."

"So I see." He says with a faint smile. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"Not really. I just want to forget about it."

He seems to struggle with himself for a moment or two before taking a step towards me. "I can help you with that. If you'd like me to."

I'm instantly wary. I've heard about the mind-control powers that vampires have. However bad my life gets, I don't want my head messed with. "What do you have in mind?"

"Nothing too frightening. I promise."

I bite my lip. I have no reason to trust him yet I have no reason not to trust him, either. If he had wanted to kill me then he could have done it the night we met. He's been nicer to me than anyone else that I've met here, though I gave him no reason to be. He didn't have to stand up for me in that bar, he didn't have to earn himself a beating. But he did. I find it hard to believe that anyone who does that is a bad person.

Oh, what the hell. I've already been labelled as a vampire groupie, a less than desirable label here in Dallas, so what have I to lose?

"Ok."


	5. Chapter 5

"Where are we going?"

We've been walking for at least ten minutes and it's an unseasonably cold night. If this is his way of distracting me from my bad day then it's a futile attempt. But no, he's stopped in front of a building. An office building, I think. It's very tall. I'm not really sure what we're doing here, though.

"How is this going to take my mind off things? Are you going to teach me how to use a fax machine or something?"

He chuckles softly. "Not quite." He takes a few steps forward until he's stood right in front of me, mere inches between us. "Do you trust me?" He asks in a voice that's barely above a whisper.

"No!" I reply incredulously with a nervous laugh.

He grins. "Could to try to for at least," he looks up towards the top of the building, "fifteen seconds or so?"

I follow his gaze up to top of the building and it dawns on me. "We're not…are we?"

He nods and before I can protest, he scoops me up in his arms and jumps and suddenly we're flying through the air. It's a terrifying whirl of colours and the sound of the wind rushing in my ears. I don't scream; I don't think I could even if I tried. I cling to Godric with as much strength as I can muster, scared that he'll drop me and I'll fall to my death. Just as suddenly as it started, our journey is over and the next thing I know he's setting me down on the roof of the building. My legs are shaking but not so much that I can't support myself.

"Could you maybe give me a little warning next time?" I ask, pushing my windswept hair out of my face.

"Of course. My apologies."

I'm about to ask him why exactly he's brought me up here when I catch sight of the view behind him. My question dies before it passes my lips and I'm moving towards the edge of the roof.

"Wow. That's incredible." And it is. It really truly is. The city lights look so much more impressive from so high up. It's beautiful. There's a sense of tranquillity, as well, being so high up and looking down over the rest of the world. A sense of freedom. It's amazing.

"Do you like it?" Godric asks, coming to stand beside me.

"I love it." I almost feel as if I could step off the edge of the building and fly away, like a bird. "Do you come up here a lot?"

He nods. "It's a good place to think. And to escape the rest of the world." He pulls himself up onto the waist-high wall that stops us from falling over the edge and perches himself on it, his legs dangling over the edge. One false move and he could go plummeting down to the road below. I doubt he'd die, him being a vampire, but I'm sure it would hurt. He holds out his hand to me and I hesitate in taking it; whilst he might be able to survive a thirty-storey fall, I wouldn't fare so well.

"I won't let you fall." He promises, seeing my hesitation. I take his hand and he pulls me up with ease. I try not to look down as I position myself next to him on the wall but I can't help it. My hands grip the wall beneath me in an attempt to fix myself to the wall; it's a very long way down.

"What would you do if I did fall?" I ask him, unable to keep the trepidation out of my voice.

"I'd catch you." He says simply, dragging his gaze away from the ground to look at me.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

I know that he meant for that to put me at ease, but it's hard to feel at ease so far from the ground.

We're silent for a long while, but I don't mind. Silence is welcome, almost a necessity, up here where there's so much to take in and appreciate.

"Have I distracted you yet?" He breaks the silence.

"Yes." I say, turning to grin at him. "Very much so."

"I'm glad. I'm sorry that you were upset."

"It's fine. It's not your fault my roommate's a bitch."

"What has she done?"

I sigh. I don't really want to tell him. Will he be angry? I doubt it, he doesn't know me well enough to get worked up over my feelings. Still, I'd rather not tell him given that it involves him so directly. But I need to tell someone and he seems to be my only friend right now.

"She started a rumour about me. I wouldn't care but it's only my first week of college and she's significantly lowered my chances of making any friends." I can feel the tears starting to pool and I blink them back furiously. I will not shed any tears over this. I refuse.

"What is the rumour?" He asks me softly.

I take a deep breath. This is going to be awkward. "Chloe doesn't really like vampires. She doesn't particularly like me, either, so when she saw us the other night, I suppose she liked me even less so she decided to tell people that I'm a…" I grimace, "a fangbanger."

"A fangbanger." He repeats and I almost laugh; the word sounds so strange in his careful voice. "Is that such a bad thing?"

Oh no. He's offended. Of course he is. I've just insinuated that sleeping with vampires is something to be ashamed of.

"No!" I protest. "No, that's not what I meant. It's just not true. And I seem to be attending a college where there are more people against vampires than there are for them."

We're both silent for a few moments and I wonder if he's angry. He doesn't really seem to be the type to get angry, though.

"She also seems to think that I have a crush on you." I blurt out, immediately regretting it when I see the look on his face. He looks alarmed.

"Do you?"

"What? No! I barely know you!"

He relaxes then and I feel a little insulted. Would it really be so bad if I did have a crush on him? A clock strikes eleven somewhere and Godric turns himself around and jumps off the wall, back onto the roof. I follow suite though I'm a lot slower.

"I should get you home." He explains as he walks towards the edge of the building that we arrived on. "I wouldn't want Chloe to think that I've kidnapped you." He moves towards me. "Are you ready?"

I take one last look at the breathtaking view before nodding. "I'm ready."

He takes me in his arms again, but this time I'm ready. I cling to his shirt as he jumps from the building but it's not nearly as frightening as it was the first time; I know what to expect now.

* * *

By the time I arrive back at campus, I'm feeling a lot better. Yes, Chloe may have started a malicious rumour about me but so what? I knew that it wasn't true and even if it was, sleeping with vampires was nothing to be ashamed of. The fact that I enjoyed the company of a vampire didn't make me a bad person; out of everyone I'd met here so far, Godric was definitely the nicest.

"Where have you been?" Chloe asks nastily when I walk through the door.

"Out." I reply shortly.

"Were you with him?"

I'm about to tell her to mind her own business when I'm struck by a flash of defiance. "Godric? Yes. Yes I was. Is that a problem?"

Chloe smirks. "Not at all." She says sweetly. "It's entirely your choice who you spend your time with, just don't expect me to weep when your body turns up mutilated and in a ditch."

"Oh, I wouldn't expect you to weep, Chloe. Not with that stone cold heart of yours."

Her expression sours and she glares at me. "I'd be careful, Thalia. This won't end well."


	6. Chapter 6

After bidding Thalia goodbye outside of her building, I return to the roof the building. My building, as I like to think of it. My retreat. It's one of the few places I can think clearly and breathe freely. Up here, away from humans and vampires alike, I feel more at peace than I have done in many years. So why is it, I ask myself, that I brought someone else up here? I have no particular ties to her and I know her very little, so why would I bring her up to my secret retreat?

Even as I'm thinking this, I know the answer.

Out of all the humans I've met, she's one of the very few who don't look at me like I'm a savage. Her eyes don't widen in horror and her heartbeat doesn't accelerate when I look at her which is, as I've found, a very common trait in humans, and for that reason I enjoy her company. I think that perhaps she even trusts me a little, too. Maybe she's foolish to do so; vampire's aren't renowned for their trustworthy attitude. I think back to when she was up here with me. I promised her that I wouldn't let her fall and she seemed to believe me, though she had no reason to. She trusted me not to let her fall, though I very easily could have and no one would have been any the wiser. What a gross betrayal of her trust that would have been, though. Especially after she defended me against who I suspect to be members of the Fellowship of the Sun down in that dark alley. She could have walked away, turned a blind eye. No one would have blamed her. In fact, I believe that, that sort of behaviour is encouraged between those who oppose us.

I realise that I've been feeling increasingly lonely for years now. For another reason that I cannot explain, or perhaps am reluctant to admit, I feel myself drawn to her.

* * *

The next couple of weeks, following the fangbanger incident, are both better and worse. Better because I seem to have made a friend in Godric. We don't do much, mostly we just talk. I tell him about my family; my overbearing dad, my superficial step-mom, my brothers, my sister and my late mom. He doesn't tell me much about himself at all; he prefers to listen to my stories. I imagine that listening to anecdotes about my life before I came to college must be incredibly boring to a vampire, but he seems to enjoy listening to me tell the story about the time we thought one of my younger brothers, Danny, had been kidnapped only for my older brother, Ethan, to find him curled up in the laundry basket, or the time Josh, Danny's twin, tried to charge our dad $10 for washing the car. They're all completely uninteresting stories but Godric always seems riveted.

It's worse because the rumour that Chloe started is still spreading like wildfire. I've become something of a social pariah but I figure that it has to get worse before it gets better, so I ignore it.

When I imagined going to college, this was not at all what I had in mind. I imagined that I'd get along with my roommate and that the people on campus would be friendly. I imagined that my father would be happy and would encourage and support me. I can safely say that my college experience so far has been one hundred percent the opposite. My roommate's an utter bitch and the people on campus, after two weeks, are still whispering and glaring in my direction. They'll get tired of it eventually, I hope, but until they do I'll just have to ride it out. My father is not at all happy about me going to college. He made that clear enough before I even left. I'm careful not to stray too far out of his favour, though. After all, it is he who's paying for it.

Today, however, he seems mellow. Happier than usual. I don't know why and he doesn't tell me. I don't want to ask though; my father has a hot temper.

"How are you getting along, sweetheart?" He asks me and I smile at the endearment. It's been quite a while since he's adorned his sentences with endearments.

"Oh, it's great, dad." I lie. There are some things he's better off not knowing and this is one of them. That and the fact that my only friend seems to be a vampire.

Thankfully my dad doesn't want to talk for long. He tells me he has to pick the twins, Danny and Josh, up from a play-date since my step-mom, Sarah, is ill.

"Love you, kid."

"Love you too, dad."

I hang up just as Chloe comes into the room. I've been trying to avoid her and her scathing commentary on my life choices.

"Was that your vampire?" She asks me and I frown. Why does she always jump to that conclusion?

"It's the middle of the day." I point out. "He's probably asleep."

"Who was it then? You don't have any other friends." She smirks.

I wonder if could justify hitting her around the head with one of my textbooks.

"My dad."

Her smirk widens. "Does daddy know about your extra-curricular activities?"

Crap. If she knows how anti-vampire my dad is then she'll go out of her way to make sure that he finds out about Godric, I'm sure of it.

"Yes." I lie.

"Hmph. Sure." She seems to lose interest in the subject, thank god, and her attention goes straight to her make-up box; she's got a date tonight which is good news for both of us. For one thing, I'll have the room to myself for a good portion of the night. Secondly, if the date goes well then it'll put her in a good mood and she won't feel the need to make my life hell for a couple of days. If it goes badly then I may as well start making funeral preparations now.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'll probably be out all night," Chloe tells me as she parades around the room in a little black dress with a smug look on her face. "Don't wait up."

"I wasn't planning on it." I reply as I watch her gaze lovingly at herself in the mirror.

"Don't touch any of my things."

"Again, I wasn't planning on it."

She picks a black clutch bag up from the bed and slips into a pair of five inch pumps before leaving the room without so much as a goodbye. Charming.

"Have a good time!" I call after her as the door slams shut. And I mean it. Not because I'm just a really, really good person who tries to see the good in people but because I'd rather not be the victim of Chloe's wrath if it goes badly because, let's face it, if it goes badly then there'll be one person and one person only that she'll take it out on. Lucky me.

I get up from my bed and go over to the window. The sun is just setting. I turn around to face the room and eye it thoughtfully. The entire night stretches in front of me like a blank sheet of paper just waiting to be filled; with Chloe out, I can do whatever I want without her interfering. It's the first time I've had the room to myself for such a long period of time and I might not get another chance for quite a while so I had better make the most of it. I realise just how pathetic I am, getting excited over having a room to myself but I don't care.

A knock on the door pulls me out of my thoughts and I start. For one horrible moment I think it might be Chloe come back to torture me but there's no way she'd bail on her date just to annoy me. Even she isn't that crazy. I cross over to the door and pull it open a little warily.

"Godric!"

He gives me a small smile.

"What are you doing here?" I can't help but look out into the hallway to check if anyone is out there and has seen him. They won't take kindly to a vampire being here, not at all.

"I was at a loose end."

Eager to get him away from any prying eyes that might be lurking, I step back and gesture for him to come inside. Not because I'm ashamed of being associated with him, it's not that. I just don't know how well he'd fare against a hoard of angry teenagers. I'm sure that he's stronger than everyone in this building put together, but there's still only one of him.

He stares at me for a few moments and I frown before I realise my mistake.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot. Would you like to come in?"

"Thank you." He says as he steps over the threshold. I close the door behind him and lock it for good measure before I turn to face him. That's when I realise what a mess the room is.

"Sorry about the mess." I say apologetically. "Chloe is on a date and she tried on every outfit she owns before deciding on one." I gesture to the heap of clothes on her bed and scattered across the floor and the shoes falling out of the wardrobe.

"It's not a problem."

"Do you want to sit do-" I trail off when I realise that the only free spot is Chloe's desk chair. "Yeah, you don't wanna sit there. You might catch bitch disease. Here," I clear the pile of books off of my chair and shove them under my bed. He sits himself down on the chair and I have to suppress a smile; unusually pale skin aside, he looks so inherently normal sitting in my desk chair, though that's really not the case. I wonder how old he is. He's never told me and I don't want to ask. He's quite a private person and I figure that if he wants to tell me something then he'll tell me. I don't want to pry. I sit cross-legged on my bed and he smiles at me.

"How are things?"

I know that he's referring to the whole rumour thing. I think he feels guilty about it. He hasn't said so but whenever the subject arises he looks…sad. Yes, sad.

"Better." I lie, because he doesn't need to know that I've yet to receive a friendly face. "I told you it would die down eventually."

His expression brightens considerably now that he doesn't think the rumour is still having such a big impact on my social status here. I feel a little guilty for lying but what he doesn't know can't hurt him.

"When will Chloe return?"

"She'll probably be out all night - her words, not mine - she told me not to wait up for her."

"How terribly optimistic of her." He replies with a grin.

* * *

We sit in my room for hours talking about, well, everything. I've been attempting to multi-task by studying at the same time. And when I say studying I mean I sat with one of my textbooks on my lap and turned a page every so often.

"Why do you like being around me?" I ask him eventually. It's a question that's been playing on my mind for quite a while now. I just can't work out why he, a vampire, would want to spend time with me, an incredibly uninteresting human. I mean, there are so many amazing people that I'm sure he could spend his time with instead, but no. As soon as the sun sets it's my side he's at, not theirs.

He hesitates for a few moments and when he answers he speaks carefully, like he doesn't want to give too much away.

"I feel very calm around you. Very peaceful."

"Why?"

"You don't treat me like a vampire, you treat me like a person. Like an equal. Even though I've given you no reason to. You have no idea how…invigorating that is."

I frown slightly. Not because I don't like what he's saying. No, I like that very much. But his comment about the way I treat him though he's given me 'no reason to'. Well, that's not true at all. He stood up for me against those assholes in the bar and got his ass kicked and then proceeded to walk me home. He took me on top of that building for no reason other than to make me feel better, though he didn't have to. He then became my only friend. On the contrary, he's given me nothing but reasons to treat him like en equal.

"I've upset you." He says worriedly and comes to sit beside me on the bed. "I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention."

"No, you haven't upset me." I say. I close the textbook that's been sitting in my lap and place it on the floor. "You never upset me. I get the feeling that you think you're a bad person, but you're not."

"I daresay you'd change your mind if you were to look into my past."

"Everybody has a past, but people change. They grow. What matters is who you are right now."

He stares - no, gazes - at me for a long moment and for a second, for one impossible second I swear he's going to kiss me. And perhaps he would have, if the door hadn't swung open.


	8. Chapter 8

"Chloe!"

Both of us spring away from each other and jump up off of the bed in shock. What is she doing here? She was supposed to be out all night! She's grasping the hand of the guy I assume is her date. I guess it went well, then. Her gaze lands on Godric, her eyes narrow nastily and I know we're in trouble. Or, I am at least.

"What the hell is he doing here?" She demands angrily. "You invited him in? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"What the hell is your problem?" I shoot back.

"What's my problem? Oh, I don't know! It could have something to do with the _vampire _stood in my room." She looks at Godric witheringly.

"_Our _room!"

"Whatever. If you weren't a fangbanger before then you certainly are now. _Everyone _is going to hear about this. Mark my words."

I'm rendered speechless by the sheer injustice of it all. What did I ever do to deserve the world's worst roommate? _Why _does she hate me so much?

Chloe's date is stood awkwardly behind her. He clears his throat in an attempt to get Chloe's attention but she ignores him. I've completely forgotten that I too have company and, in a fit of rage, I grab my bag and storm from the room. Even if Chloe hadn't brought her date back with her, I wouldn't spend the night in the same room as her. I'll sleep in my car if I have to. In fact, I'd much rather sleep in my car than have to put up with her.

I hurry down the stairs and push open the door of the building so hard that it hits the wall. I don't think I've ever been so angry. She's just so…ugh! She's impossible. I could be the fucking Queen of England and she'd still hate my guts for no reason whatsoever.

I'm down in the parking lot, looking for my car keys, when Godric catches up with me.

"Thalia?"

I turn around and he's stood a few feet behind, watching me warily.

"What?" I snap.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine."

He takes a few steps forward. "What are you doing?" He asks me as I rummage through my bag, trying to find my car keys to no avail.

"I'm trying to find my keys," I mutter. "I'm not going back up there so I'll have to sleep in my car."

"You're not sleeping in your car." He says reasonably.

"Yes, I am." I say irritably as I finally locate my keys. I pull them out of my bag and attempt to unlock my car but my hands are shaking and instead of unlocking it, I drop the keys. I let out a small scream of frustration but before I can bend to pick them up, Godric is handing them to me.

"Thank you." I mutter grudgingly as I take them from him.

"I'm not going to allow you to sleep in your car." He says as he watches me successfully unlock it and pull open the door.

"Yes, I am. Where else am I gonna go?"

"You can come home with me."

I'm brought up short. I've never really imagined Godric as actually living anywhere. I mean, I knew he must but it's hard to imagine a vampire owning anything as normal as a house.

"You don't have to do that for me. I'm fine here." I gesture to my car and start to turn away from him. I go to throw my bag on the passenger seat but he grabs my arm. It's not a violent gesture but he's gripping hard enough to get my attention.

"I said you're not sleeping in your car." He closes the car door. "Come."

* * *

Wow. Whatever I'd been expecting, it certainly wasn't this. This…this is beautiful. It's so light and open. We're stood in what I suppose is the living room, but the place is so big that it could just be a spare room for all I know. The far wall is made of glass, making the room look bigger than it actually is. I suspect that there are light-tight shutters that come down in the daytime, though. There are shelves upon shelves of books and various artefacts. They could be hundreds of years old, maybe even thousands, I really wouldn't know. It's about as far away from what I would expect of a vampire as is possible.

"This is incredible." I murmur, approaching a shelf of exceptionally old-looking books. I long to take them out and thumb through them but I'm careful to keep my hands to myself. "Seriously, you _live _here? This isn't just some random house that you've broken into?" I say, turning to face him.

He laughs. "What were you expecting?"

"I don't know. Dungeons, coffins, that sort of thing."

"That's not exactly my style." He says, almost apologetically.

"So I see!"

I'm so impressed by his extravagant home that I've all but forgotten about Chloe and her irrational hatred for me and everything that surrounds me. It hadn't occurred to me that Godric had money and, judging by this place, a lot of it. Then again, if he's been around a long time, it wouldn't exactly be hard to accumulate it over the years.

"Do you live here alone?" It's such a big place. Surely there are residents other than him, otherwise wouldn't he get horribly lonely?

He shrugs. "Mostly. My associates will sometimes stay for a while if they have business in the area, but for the most part it's just me."

"Don't you get lonely?" I know that I would. Living alone like this, I wouldn't just feel lonely, I'd feel isolated.

"I like being alone." He says quietly and I'm suddenly gripped by the fear that I'm intruding.

"Do you want me to leave?" I ask, horrified that I might have somehow forced my company on him, forgetting that it was he who insisted I come to his house. "I can go, if you wanna be alone."

"I also like being around you." He takes a few slow steps forwards. "They say there's an exception to every rule, do they not?" He takes another step forwards and I find myself transfixed to the spot. I wonder for a moment if he's doing that mind control thing that I know vampires can do, but no, I'm frozen by my own rapidly changing emotions, because as he steps towards me, I notice for the first time how beautiful he is. Really, really beautiful but in a kind of understated way. I long to reach out and brush my fingers down the pale skin of his face or trace the shape of his lips. I want to wrap my arms around his neck, press my body up against his and kiss him as forcefully as I dare. I want to run my fingers through his hair an- _what has gotten into me? _I don't know if he can hear my heart beat pick up or if he can see the faint blush that I'm almost certain is flooding my cheeks, but if he does then he doesn't let on. "I suppose that we could say that you're the exception to that rule."

Because developing a crush on a vampire is the last thing that I want to do - it's complicated enough having him as a friend - or maybe because I'm just an idiot, I drag my gaze away from his and move away from him as subtly as I can manage.

"Is that a good thing?" I ask as soon as I'm far enough away from him to regain my composure. I take a few steps towards the glass wall and look out of it, though there's not really much to see, but I can see Godric's reflection in the glass.

"_I _think so." He replies and I can see him watching me. I think he's looking at my reflection, just as I am watching his, trying to gauge my reaction. I catch his eye in the glass and give him a timid smile, because I'm not really sure how else to respond. I want to change the subject, to talk about something that isn't so...I don't know. Intimate? My mind, however, is frustratingly blank.


	9. Chapter 9

What was the worst thing I could have done upon coming to college? Fall for a vampire.

What did I do when I came to college? Oh, right. I fell for a vampire.

Ok, maybe 'fell for' is a little strong. Or is it? I've spent the past five hours trying to, unsuccessfully, fall asleep. Maybe it's because I'm not in my own bed. Or maybe because I'm filled with not-so-innocent thoughts about a certain vampire. Oh, hell.

He's still awake, I think, which isn't surprising. I can't hear him moving around, he moves much too swiftly for my dull human senses to pick up, but every so often I'll hear a door open or close. I wonder if he knows I'm still awake. Probably. If he hasn't heard me tossing and turning then he's definitely heard my sighs of exasperation.

This is ridiculous. I don't know what I'm hoping to achieve. It's not like anything can ever come of me and Godric. Even if you set aside the fact that my father would very likely kill me if he found out that I'd so much as laid eyes on a vampire, why would Godric settle for me? I'm not putting myself down or anything, but seriously, the amount of people Godric must have met during his time, the things he must have seen, why exactly would he settle for me? There's nothing remotely interesting about me. I've never done anything particularly exciting. I'm an average person at best.

On a more positive note, this bed is really comfortable.

* * *

When I wake in the morning it takes me a few moments to remember where I am. I check my phone and see that it's seven am. I do a double take, because I'm sure that it can't be seven, it's still dark!

Oh, hang on. Vampire. Light-tight shutters. Of course it's dark in here. I sit up and push my hair out of my face. I feel reasonably well rested, though I got barely any sleep. I yawn and push my self reluctantly out of the bed. I had better make my way back to campus; I don't wanna miss my class. As quietly as I can manage, I make the bed, because it seems rude not to, since he let me stay the night and all, and then gather all my stuff together. I creep out of the room and try to navigate my way out of the house without waking him. It's dark in here, almost pitch black, so I'm having a hard time moving around without knocking into things. I don't know how strong vampire hearing is when they're asleep, but I hope against hope that I haven't woken him.

I'm almost at the front door when I realise that I should probably thank him. I pull a pad of paper out of my bag and rip out a page. I grab a pen from one of the front pockets and use the light on my phone to illuminate the page.

_Godric, _I scribble, _thank you for letting me stay. I appreciate it. _

_- Thalia_

I leave it on the side and let myself out as quietly as possible. I'll probably see him sometime over the course of the next few days but it just seems wrong to leave without leaving a thank you note.

* * *

I make it back to campus with just enough time to spare so I race up to my room, which is empty, thank god, and brush my teeth, pull a comb through my hair and splash water on my face. I don't have time to change but at least I'm looking a little more presentable than I was. I can only hope that the people in my class don't notice that I'm wearing the same clothes as yesterday and assume the worst.

I rush into class and there are plenty of glares thrown my way. I resist the urge to roll my eyes and give them the finger. Are their lives really that boring that a completely untrue rumour about me is still the biggest piece of gossip they've heard since we started? It's been three weeks!

A few of the more immature guys sat at the back of the room smirk over at me. They're the few people who seem to find my predicament amusing as opposed to morally wrong as everyone else seems to see it.

I sit down in an empty seat next to a girl who lives a couple of doors down from Chloe and I. She's among the very small number of people who haven't reacted at all to my allegedly being a fangbanger, so I figure it's safe to sit beside her.

"Hi!" She says as I sit down. She's smiling at me and I'm not sure if she's making fun of me or if she's being sincere.

"Hey." I say slowly.

"I'm Aimee." She holds her hand out to me and I take it warily.

"Thalia."

"Oh, I know who you are. You're the f-" She stops herself at the last minute and blushes, embarrassed.

I raise an eyebrow. "Fangbanger?" I offer and she nods.

"Sorry, I didn't mean anything. It's just what everyone calls you."

Oh, they do, do they? Brilliant. I decide, however, that she's being sincere. She seems genuinely embarrassed by her slip up and I can't detect any cruelness in the way she tells me what everyone refers to me as.

"It's ok." I say with a sigh. "But, just for the record, I'm not."

"Not what?"

"A fangbanger."

"You don't sleep with vampires?" She asks with wide eyes.

"No!" I laugh. I haven't slept with _anyone, _but she doesn't need to know that. I note the fact that she says 'vampires' as opposed to 'vampire' and I realise that Chloe must have made out that I'd slept with a whole plethora of them. Bitch.

"Then why…?"

"I have a friend who's a vampire." I tell her and her eyes grow even wider still. "He's _just _a friend." I hasten to assure her. "I haven't known him that long and I definitely haven't been sleeping with him." That's not to say that I wouldn't, though. "My roommate doesn't like vampires and she doesn't like me either so I guess she decided to tell everyone that I'm a fangbanger."

"That doesn't seem fair." She frowns and I decide that I like her. She seems genuinely nice.

"It's not. But what can I do? People are going to believe what they want to."

* * *

The two hours of class pass by without any major incident. I'm still eager to get away, though. As soon as it's over, I start gathering my things as quickly as possible and stuff them in my bag. I'm standing up and pushing my chair under the table when Aimee grabs my wrist.

"Hey! Do you wanna grab something to eat? I'm starving."

I stare at her. Does she realise that socialising with me will put her on the bottom of the popularity chain?

"Are you sure you wanna be seen with me? I mean, I'm a fangbanger, remember?" I try to say it casually but my smile feels more like a grimace.

"I don't care who you sleep with. I happen to like vampires. Or, the ones I've met, anyway. Besides, you look like you could use a friend."

The smile that comes to my lips this time is one hundred percent genuine. Because I could. I really could use a friend.


	10. Chapter 10

I learn that Aimee is from Manhattan, She's the youngest of three children. She's just gotten engaged to her long-term boyfriend, Alex, who she's been with since the ninth grade. She and Alex were crowned prom king and queen at their senior prom. She gets on with her older brother but not her sister. She's met various vampires and has no problem with them. She's met Chloe and doesn't like her. Immediately after she says this, I know that she's someone I want as my friend.

We walk back to our building together and for the first time since I started here I feel…happy. Properly happy. Because I finally have a friend here, someone who's on my side.

"I'm having a party tonight. For my birthday." Aimee says as we climb the stairs towards our floor. "You wanna come?"

"Me? Really? You don't have to invite me, I don't think that many people would be happy to see me there."

"I want to invite you. You should bring your friend, too."

"Godric?" I can't help but laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure that would go down well."

"You need to stand up to them, the people who have turned against you because of the whole vampire thing. If you show up with your vampire friend, it'll show them that you don't care what they think, that you're not scared of them. It'll make them back off a lot more quickly than they would otherwise."

"I'm not sure that parties are really Godric's thing." I say sceptically. I can't imagine him at any kind of party, never mind a college party.

"Well, ask him anyway. Even if you just show up for a minute or two, it'll show the bullies that they aren't getting to you."

"Ok, I guess." I say dubiously and Aimee smiles.

"Great! I hope to see you both tonight!" She gives me a parting grin before disappearing into her room.

It's not until I'm turning the handle of my own room that I become apprehensive. I'd forgotten all about Chloe and what happened last night, but I can't avoid her forever. I open the door and step inside to find Chloe lay on her bed. She jumps up the moment she sees me and squeals.

"Thalia!" She exclaims. "Where have you been? I was _so _worried!"

Wait. What? Am I missing something?

"I stayed at Godric's." I say stiffly.

Her eyes widen and I brace myself for the harsh comments that are sure to start tumbling from her lips, but they never come.

"I'm so sorry, Thalia." She says, her expression becoming immediately solemn. "I've been absolutely awful to you. When you didn't come home last night, I realised I'd gone too far. I have jealousy issues an-"

"Hold up. Jealousy issues? What are you jealous of?"

She looks down at the ground for a few moments before looking back up at me. She looks embarrassed. Why?

"I'm jealous of you. I'm jealous of you because," she takes a deep breath, "I have a crush on your vampire. On Godric."

_What? _There's no way this can be true, can it? Chloe has a crush on _Godric? _No way.

"You don't even know him." I point out coldly.

"I know, I know. But he's just so _pretty!_"

Is she fucking serious right now?

"Oh, right." I'm kind of pissed right now. She decided to turn everyone against me because she has a crush on Godric? Who's the fangbanger now? I think angrily. Right now, _I'm _the one who's jealous. I'm seven shades of green with envy because _I _like Godric, but how can I ever compete with Chloe? She's tall, blonde and beautiful. She's the kind of girl all the guys want.

But Godric isn't a normal guy, I remind myself. Godric has no interest in girls like Chloe. Hell, he may have no interest in girls like me, either. I don't know what he's into. He could be into guys for all I know.

"..and I knew that you guys were together an-" Chloe's saying.

"What? No. No, me and Godric aren't together." I cut across her, though I wish I could tell her otherwise.

"You aren't?" Her whole face lights up. "Could you put in a good word for me?"

"_What?_ No! Of course I couldn't! If you want to get in with Godric, you'll have to do it yourself."

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

No, you shouldn't have, I think to myself as I grit my teeth to prevent myself from saying it out loud.

So, in a surprising turn of events, Chloe has a crush on Godric. I did _not _see that one coming.

I mean, she could be lying I suppose, but I don't see why she would lie about this. What does she have to gain from it?

* * *

The sun has been down a little over ten minutes when my cell goes off. I glance at the display and see that it's Godric. My stomach does an excited somersault because I'm pathetic like that.

"Hey," I answer, pressing the phone to my ear.

"Hello," He says, quietly as ever. "Are you doing anything tonight?"

"Not exactly…" I begin. How do I even begin to ask a vampire if he wants to go to a college party?

"Not exactly?"

I sigh. "Ok, this girl invited me to a party and she said I should bring you because it would show everyone that I don't care what they think and I told her that I didn't really think parties were your thing but she said that I should ask you anyway and that even if we only showed up for like a minute or two it would make a difference with the idiots that have turned against me and I wouldn't be asking you at all but she's like my only friend here and that's kind of a big deal but I get that a college party isn't really your thing so I'll just go alone and say that I asked you but you were busy doing, I don't know, vampire stuff." I'm talking so fast that I barely have time to draw breath, never mind allow Godric a word in edgeways. I'm about to start talking again, to apologise for getting him invited to a college party when he cuts across me.

"Thalia?"

"Yes?"

"I'd like to go with you."

"You _would? _Why?"

"Because it's important to you."

"Well, I wouldn't say it's _important _bu-"

"I'll see you in an hour."

He hangs up and I'm left staring at my cell in disbelief. I'm going to a party. With Godric. There's two things I never thought I'd say in the same sentence.

Unfortunately, Chloe is also going to be at this party. In fact, she's already there. She left a half hour ago in a very tight red dress. I frown. I'm willing to bet everything I own that she'll make a pass at Godric the first chance she gets, if the whole her having a crush on him is at all true.

* * *

There's a knock at my door and I immediately feel nervous. Not because I'm going to a party full of people who hate me, though. Oh no. The way I feel about that pales in comparison to the way I feel about seeing Godric. Yeah, I'm one of those girls, apparently.

I grab my cell and shove it into a small clutch bag I bought years ago for my father's marriage to my step-mom. I take a deep breath and pull the door open to reveal Godric. Oh, he looks so good. Chloe's right, he's so pretty. No, pretty isn't the right word. He's amazingly good looking.

I hear a sharp intake of breath when his gaze lands on me and I instantly feel self-conscious.

"You look…"

"Hideous?" I thought I looked ok when I looked in the mirror but maybe I seriously misjudged.

"I was going to say beautiful."

Oh. I can't help the stupid grin that forces it's way onto my face as I blush. "Thank you." I say quietly, fixing my gaze on the floor in the hopes that my hair will shield the flush of colour.

"Shall we?" He holds his hand out to me.

I step out of my room and take his hand - it's so cold - before I lock the door behind me. He gives me a small smile, which I return shyly, and we make our way towards the common room, where the party is behind held. I look down at our intertwined fingers. Oh, they are going to _love _this.


	11. Chapter 11

I pull my hand out of Godric's as we approach the common room. Because I'm a coward. I just…I just don't want people to get the wrong idea. Godric and I are not a couple, so there's no reason to present ourselves as such.

And why not admit it? I'm worried what people will think.

"What's wrong?" Godric asks me and I can tell by the tone of his voice that my snatching my hand away has upset him.

"Nothing." I mutter. I think he reaches out to take my hand again but I fold my arms so that he can't. I'm nervous now. Like, really nervous. Because all the people who hate me, though I've never met them, will be in there. If I just walk in with Godric, they'll hate me even more!

I'm about to suggest that even considering going to this party was a mistake when I'm gripped by a sudden surge of defiance. Why should I have to please these people? If they dislike me because of a completely unfounded rumour, a rumour that wouldn't be a bad thing even if it was true, then do I even want them to like me?

Before I can change my mind, I reach out and push open the door. I walk into the room, Godric following behind me and…

And nothing. Nothing happens. No one pounces on me, screaming about my immoral life style. No one shouts insults. In fact, no one even looks at us. I don't know what I was expecting, really. The whole room to come to an abrupt stop as they turned to face us with a collective gasp, perhaps?

"Thalia! You came!" Aimee comes hurrying up to us, looking thrilled.

"Hey," I say quietly. Now that people have heard my name, they're turning to look at me. They spot Godric stood beside me and start whispering between themselves. Aimee follows my gaze and rolls her eyes at a group of girls to our right who, from what I can make out, are torn between their hatred of vampires and their weakness for a 'pretty boy'. Their words, not mine.

"Ignore them." She says quietly. "They'll get over it." She turns to Godric with a smile and holds out her hand. "You must be Godric. I'm Aimee."

He takes her hand and shakes it. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aimee."

"I've heard a lot about you."

I frown, because I assume she's talking about what I've told her about him, which is next to nothing.

Godric turns to give me a questioning look before returning his gaze to Aimee. "Oh?"

"Mhm. Though I doubt what I've heard is true. It did come from a rather unreliable source." Almost on cue, Chloe comes bounding over, grinning.

"Thalia!" She squeals, pulling me into a hug that's a little unnecessary. I mean, we only saw each other an hour and a half ago. Immediately after letting me go she turns her attention to Godric.

"Godric." She purrs in what I think she wrongly imagines is a seductive way.

"Chloe." Godric replies, unimpressed, but of course, that doesn't deter her.

"It's nice to see you again."

Godric looks at me uncertainly and I remember that I forgot to tell him about Chloe's alleged crush on him. Because he's a gentleman, though, he turns to Chloe with a pleasant smile and inclines his head a little. "It's nice to see you, too, Chloe." He says a little too sincerely. I have to suppress a smirk because I know that he dislikes Chloe almost as much as I do. Chloe, however, doesn't notice and positively beams.

"Dude! It's that slut that bangs vampires!"

I freeze. It was all going so well, or so I thought. Aimee's glaring over at the offender and he has the grace to look embarrassed. I don't actually think he meant for anyone but his friend to hear him. I glance at Chloe and see that she's looking offended, on my behalf presumably, though I'm not sure why. She was the one who started the whole thing. I'm not particularly bothered about Chloe right now, though, because my attention has shifted to Godric and for the first time I'm genuinely scared of what he might do.

He's turned slowly to face the guy who said it and I can tell from the way that his jaw clenches that he's gritting his teeth.

"Would you like to repeat that?" He says in a voice that's much lower and much more dangerous than the one I'm used to.

The guy, seeing only a boy not much older than himself, doesn't sense the danger and he laughs.

"I said that's the slut who bangs vampires." He repeats, gesturing towards me and I groan. _Idiot!_

There's a click and a large gasp from all those in the vicinity. From the way that the boy reels backwards, I can only assume that his fangs have made an appearance. I decide that this is the moment to intervene.

"Godric," I mutter, coming forward. I touch his arm tentatively in an attempt to get his attention but he ignores me, his gaze fixated on the boy. Everyone is silent now. The room as a whole seems to be holding it's breath, waiting both eagerly and horrified for the next move to be made.

I don't know about everyone else but I'd rather this didn't turn into a bloodbath.

"Godric!" I grab his hand. When he doesn't respond I proceed to pull him away and out of the room. I manage to get him out of there relatively easily and I know that he must be letting me because if he'd wanted to stop me he could have done so very easily.

"Well that was a fucking disaster." As soon as the door swings shut behind us, the room explodes with excited chatter. Great. Instead of showing them that I don't care about what they think, I've only gone and made the situation ten times worse. I _knew _we shouldn't have gone!

I'm angry. So angry. At myself for believing for even a second that, that could have gone any other way than it did. At Aimee for inviting us in the first place. At Chloe for starting the whole stupid rumour and at Godric. Oh, I am so angry at Godric.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh, you're sorry? You're fucking _sorry?_" I snap. "Do you have any idea what you've just done? As if they didn't hate me enough already!"

He looks shocked for a moment, and then defensive.

"He called you a-"

"-I know what he called me! I was there! Believe it or not, I've been called worse!"

His expression darkens and he opens his mouth to retort but I cut him off.

"I appreciate you standing up for me but I don't want you fighting my battles, Godric. Ok? I can take care of myself."

"Can you?"

He doesn't say it cruelly or in a way that suggests he's trying to hurt me. In fact, he says it very gently, but it takes all the fight out of me. Because he's right. He's completely right. I _can't _look after myself. I've had such a sheltered upbringing and as a result I can't look after myself. I don't stand up for myself. I let these people walk all over me and instead of standing up for myself, I curl up in a corner and just wait for them to stop, even though _I've done nothing wrong. _I might be the victim here, but that doesn't mean that I have to act like it.


	12. Chapter 12

I don't even realise that I'm crying until Godric is right in front of me, wiping away the tears that are falling down my face. I turn my head and push his hand away. I don't want his pity.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you."

"I'm not upset." I mutter, though the tears that are still streaming down my face tell a different story.

"Then why are you crying?" Godric asks, bemused.

"Because I'm angry."

"At me." It's not a question, it's more of a statement. When I look up I see that his expression is pained.

"No, not at you. I'm angry at myself."

"Why?"

"Because I'm _weak!_ You saw what happened in there; I just let them walk all over me."

He stares at me for a few long moments. He's probably realised how utterly pathetic I am. Instead of telling me to get over myself, though, he holds his hand out to me and I almost melt inside. Because despite what happened tonight and despite my anger at everyone and everything, the sight of a boy holding out his hand to me, looking at me like I'm the only person in the entire world who matters, has me weak at the knees. Ok, maybe not just any boy. The sight of _Godric _holding out his hand to me, looking at me like I'm the only person in the entire world who matters has me weak at the knees. But I don't cave.

"You know what, I really just need to be alone right now."

His hand falls to his side and he looks at me, his expression blank, then, without a word, he turns on his heel and walks away from me. I don't call him back or attempt to go after him. I watch him until he's out of my sight before making my way back to my room.

I shut the door behind me and lock it for good measure. I sit down on my bed and put my head in my hands. Maybe I should sever all ties with Godric. I need to learn to stand up for myself, but will I be able to do that with Godric by my side, or will I just start depending on him to fight my battles?

_You wouldn't have any battles to fight if it wasn't for him, _my subconscious snarls. It's true, but that's not Godric's fault.

The whole situation isn't at all helped by my stupid school-girl crush on him. Maybe that's another reason I should sever ties with him. A crush on a vampire can only end badly, right?

Ugh. My emotions are all over the place. I don't know what I want or what I don't want. When did I become so complicated?

My cell starts ringing and I snatch it up, expecting to see Godric's name on the display, but no. It's just my dad checking up on me, as per.

"Hey, dad."

"Hey, kid. How are you?"

"I'm great. How are you?" I lie, because telling him the truth would do much more harm than good.

"I'm ok. Miss you, though."

"I miss you, too." To my horror, new tears are threatening to spill down my cheeks. Not out of anger, though, but out of longing. Because even though I was so eager to come here and get away from my overbearing father and my boring life, I miss him. I miss my brothers and my sister and even my step-mom. I long for the uncomplicatedness of it all.

"When are you coming home to see your old man?"

Yes. That's what I need. I need to go home for a while. Just a couple of days. It'll help me get my head around things and to decide what I should do.

"Tonight. I'm coming home tonight, dad." It's Friday so I don't have any classes I need to go to over the weekend.

"You are?" He sounds overjoyed and I feel a rush of affection for him. "That's great, honey!"

"I'll see you soon. Love you."

"Love you, too."

I hang up and immediately go about packing some stuff. I shouldn't need too much, so I just grab a couple of outfits, a few pairs of shoes, my toothbrush, a wash cloth and some makeup. I have plenty of stuff still at home so I should be ok if I forget anything.

I'm stuffing my clothes into a bag when the door is unlocked and in walks Chloe.

"What are you doing?"

Normally, I'd tell her to mind her own business but I can't be bothered getting into anything with her right now. I'm too tired.

"I'm going home for a few days."

"Because of what happened at the party?" She asks sympathetically and I'm instantly irritated.

"No!" I don't want people to think that I'm running away. "I just want to see my family."

This seems to satisfy her. "Oh."

I'm half way down the corridor when she comes hurrying out of our room. "What should I tell Godric if he comes looking for you?"

"Tell him whatever you want." I shoot over my shoulder. I doubt Godric will go to her for answers. If he wants to know where I am, he'll call me.

* * *

"Thalia!"

My dad is probably the happiest I've ever seen him. He's usually so surly, so grumpy, but it seems that his attitude has improved significantly since I've been away at college. I don't know whether to take this as an insult or not.

"Hey, dad."

He pulls me into a hug and I can't help but grin, because I feel more content than I have in over a fortnight.

Sarah is next. She cups my face and peers at me worriedly, as though she's expecting me to start sprouting tentacles or something. "Oh, look at you! So grown up!" She gushes and embraces me. I return the hug albeit a little reluctantly; Sarah and I have never been the best of friends. We've had more than our fair share of arguments over the years. I haven't exactly been a model step-daughter.

It's the sight of my older brother, Ethan, that really makes me smile, though. He's the only full sibling I have, so naturally I feel closer to him than I do to the younger ones, my dad and Sarah.

He doesn't say anything, he just strides across the lawn, waits until Sarah has let me go, and pulls me into his arms. His hug is almost crushing, but I don't pull away. There's a lot of friction between Ethan and my dad. It makes my relationship with my dad look like paradise. I don't know why he doesn't just move out. Get away, like I did. I would say that it must have been hard for him without me here to diffuse the tension between them, but Sarah is just as good as me at averting fight between them, so why does he look so relieved to see me?

"You ok?" I ask him when he finally lets me go.

"I am now. I'm glad you're here."


	13. Chapter 13

Ethan and I sit in the alcove in my room. Dad and Sarah went to bed after checking on our younger siblings, who had gone to sleep long before I arrived. We're both clutching mugs of coffee and staring out over the front lawn. I get the feeling that he wants to say something, but he stays silent. It's not an awkward silence. Ethan and I have been a team our entire lives, silence is something that we can sit in quite comfortably together. He's the one person in the world that I trust more than anyone. He won't judge me on what I do or who I do it with.

"I need to tell you something." He says suddenly. He places his mug down on the windowsill and looks at me. He looks uncomfortable. Incredibly so.

"What it is?"

"I met someone." He says slowly.

"That's great, Ethan! What's her name?"

He swallows. "_His _name is Matthew."

I'm shocked. It's all I can do not to gasp. I've always assumed that Ethan liked girls. I mean, he dated enough of them in high school. He was what you might call a ladies man.

"Since when were you gay?"

"I didn't know I was! I just…I don't know. I can't stop thinking about him, Thalia! I know it's wron-"

"-no it's not. It's not wrong at all. You can't help who you fall in love with." I cut across him, frowning.

He hushes me and glances towards the door to check that no one has been listening. "Keep your voice down! If dad finds out, he'll kill me."

_Oh. _Of course. I'd completely forgotten about our father. That explains why he looks so torn up about it. Still, he's not the only one who's fallen for someone they shouldn't. I hadn't originally planned on telling Ethan about Godric; the less people who know about that and my stupid crush on him, the better, but I'm not one to keep secrets from Ethan.

"If it makes you feel any better, I've met someone, too." I say, placing my mug down next to his.

His eyes widen as what I've said registers and his mouth falls open. "Are you gay, too?"

"No. His name is Godric…"

Ethan snickers, his predicament momentarily forgotten. "Godric? What kind of a name is that?

"He's a vampire."

If I was shocked when Ethan came clean to me, it's nothing to the way he's looking right now. He looks astounded. Frightened, even.

"A vampire?" He demands with wide eyes.

I nod. "A vampire."

"You do realise that dad will kill you and your vampire if he finds out?"

"Yes, which is why you can't tell _anyone_, ok?"

He looks wounded by the idea that I would think that for even a moment. "Of course I won't!"

We look at each other for a moment before we both burst out laughing. We've both strayed so far from the path that our father set for us. If he knew what either of us were up to, he'd have a heart attack.

* * *

"Thalia!"

Danny and Josh come running into the kitchen, knocking over a stool in the process. Josh launches himself into my lap and wraps his arms around my neck whilst Danny starts pulling on my arm, asking a hundred questions. What's big school like? Do I have any friends? Why am I home? Am I home for ever? Before I can answer any of them, though, Lucy comes trotting into the kitchen in her pyjamas, clutching a teddy bear. She looks grumpy at being woken up so early but the moment she catches sight of me, she lets out a piercing squeal and runs over. She stands on the chair next to mine and attempts to join in the hug that Josh is still giving me.

Honestly, you'd think I'd been missing for years, not away at college for a few weeks. Fortunately, at this point, Sarah decides to intervene and tactfully removes Josh from my lap and plants him down on his own chair. She carefully brings Lucy down into a sitting position so that she doesn't fall off of the chair and hurt herself. Danny takes the seat next to Josh and starts to happily fill me in on everything I've missed. Which isn't a lot, apparently. The only stories worth reporting is that Danny can now tell the time and Josh can tie his own shoelaces. Still, I don't mind. I've missed this. Just being around them, I can feel the old me returning. The version of me that isn't mixed up with a vampire.

* * *

I'm lay on my bed when Ethan comes into my room. I'm exhausted. Running around with three kids all under the age of seven is much more tiring than I remember, and I've been doing it _all day. _At least they fell straight to sleep come bedtime, though. Ethan got out of it, somehow. He said he had stuff to do. Important stuff. Ha, yeah right. More like he was meeting up with his boyfriend. I would have ratted him out so that he would have had to stay and help me but given the circumstances…

I continue typing out the text I'm writing, telling Aimee when I'll be back, before I look up at him. He's not looking at me, though. He's staring out of the window.

"What are you looking at?" I ask him, pushing myself up onto my elbows.

"That vampire you told me about. What does he look like?"

"Godric?" I frown, confused. What concern is it of Ethan's what Godric looks like? "Um, he's got dark hair. He's a little taller than me. Pale skin. That's it really, why?"

"Any tattoos?"

Where is he going with this?

"Um. Yeah. He's got one across his chest. One on his left arm and one on his back, I think. I mean, he could have others but they're the only ones I've seen. Why?"

"He's standing outside of our house."

"_What?_"

I'm on my feet before Ethan can say another word. I push past him so that I have a clear view of the window. I'm almost a hundred percent sure that he's lying. I mean, there's no way that Godric could be here. But he is. He's stood on the sidewalk right outside of our house. His cell is pressed to his ear and he's talking to someone; his head is turned slightly away from the window but there's no mistake. It's Godric.

"What the fuck is he doing here." I whisper angrily. My _dad _is right inside!

He must have heard my whisper because he's distracted from his phone call for a moment. He looks up towards where Ethan and I are stood, gob smacked, at my window. He catches my eye and I glare down at him. What the fuck is he doing?


	14. Chapter 14

_Firstly, I'd like to thank you all for the positive feedback to this story. Keep it coming, I love hearing what you all have to say about it. Secondly, I've just started a new job so updates may be slower than they have been, but I'll try my best to keep updating as much as possible._

* * *

"Distract dad for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Just…I don't know. Make sure he doesn't come outside. Try and keep him in the living room."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find out why the fuck Godric is stood outside our house."

I don't wait for a reply. I hurry out of my room and make my way down the stairs as quietly as possible. I open the front door and pull it to gently so that my dad won't hear it closing. When I'm positive that it's closed and dad hasn't heard, I turn on my heel and make a beeline for Godric, who is watching me storm down the driveway towards him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demand.

"I was in the neighbourhood." He says, the faintest hint of a smile playing on his lips.

"This isn't funny! What are you doing here?"

"Are you alright?" He asks me, serious now.

"Yes. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugs. "I had a bad feeling."

A bad feeling? A bad feeling about _what? _I'm about to ask him this when a more pressing issue presents itself to me.

"Hang on, how do you know where I live?"

"I asked Aimee."

"Aimee doesn't know my exact address."

"I'm a vampire, Thalia. I can come by information relatively easily."

Something isn't adding up here. "Ok, so let me get this straight. You went out of your way to find my address and then to come find me, all because you had a bad feeling? Couldn't you have just called?"

"I could have. But I wanted to apologise to you, as well, and I didn't want to do that over the phone."

"Apologise for what?" I look over my shoulder at the house. Thankfully, the living room is at the back of the house so there's no danger of my dad glancing out of the window and seeing us.

"For my behaviour at the party. It was unacceptable."

Something still isn't adding up. Surely his apology could have waited until I got back to campus?

"Ok. Apology accepted. Now why are you really here?"

He frowns. "I've told you why I'm here."

"Yeah? Well I don't buy it."

He looks at me blankly. "I don't know what to tell you." He looks confused and I decide that maybe he's telling the truth. It is Godric after all. I can imagine that the thought of me being mad at him for an entire weekend would have played on his mind quite a bit. You know, providing he even cares about whether or not I'm mad at him. Which he probably doesn't but hey, a girl can dream.

"Never mind." I sigh and throw another nervous glance over my shoulder. "You know, I'd invite you in but…well, my dad's home and he kind of, well, hates vampires."

He nods. "I understand."

The front door opens and I whip around, but it's only Ethan. He's looking at Godric curiously.

"Is that your brother?" Godric asks me quietly.

"Yes." I say, turning back around to face him.

"He looks like you."

I smile, but I know that I need to bring the conversation to an end, because Ethan appearing at the doorway can only be him signalling to me that dad will be coming out of the living room soon and therefore may spot Godric and I.

"I'll call you when I'm back."

He nods and leans forward and for a moment, just like the moment back at his house, I think he's going to kiss me. Oh, what a glorious moment it is. But of course, he doesn't. Not the way I want, anyway. He presses his lips lightly to my cheek. I don't know if he can hear my heartbeat but if he can then he'll be able to hear how it increased as he leaned in. How embarrassing.

"Goodnight, Thalia." He murmurs. He steps back, looks over at Ethan and then back at me before taking off into the night.

Ethan and I hurry back to my room in silence. He managed to keep dad preoccupied whilst I was outside with Godric, and I managed to get back inside before dad left the living room, so all is well.

"I thought you said you and him weren't together or anything?" He bursts out as soon as I shut the door behind us.

"We're not!"

"Really? Because that's not what it looked like."

"He doesn't like me like that. We're just friends."

"Are you sure?"

Not really, no. There are moments when I think that maybe he does like me. You know, as more than a friend. But then I remember that he's a vampire and I'm an insignificant human. The idea that he likes me is a laughable one.

"Yes, I'm sure. He's a vampire, Ethan. Why would he like me?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Look, even if he did like me, we could never be together."

He opens his mouth, to ask me why, I think, but I cut across him. "Look, can we not talk about it, please? I'd rather not dwell on it. Let's talk about something else."

Ethan looks like he wants to protest but perhaps something in my expression, which is downright miserable, convinces him otherwise. "Ok, fine." He sprawls out on my bed and looks up at me. "What would you like to talk about?"

Grinning, I sit down beside him. "Tell me about Matthew."

He groans. Not irritably, it's a good-natured groan. Like he knows I'm going to start gushing over him, which in all honesty, I probably will. I'm his sister, it's my job.


	15. Chapter 15

I somehow find myself, once again, at Godric's house. He called and asked me over and, of course, I came running.

I'm stood in the room I stayed in last time, surveying myself in a floor-length mirror. My dress is short, black and close-fitting. It's not at all like my usual attire. My hair hangs past my waist in loose curls. It looks quite nice, actually. I should wear it like this more often.

I run my hands down my sides, flattening out imaginary creases in my dress when Godric appears behind me. He stops only when his body is almost flush against mine and I lean back into him, longing to be close to him. His left hand rests on my bare thigh just below the hem of the dress. He alternates between gently stroking my skin and grazing it with his fingernails, not hard enough to hurt but just hard enough to elicit gasps of anticipation from me.

His right hand, which has been resting on my waist, starts making its way up my body. His left hand leaves my thigh and he uses it to sweep my hair to one side, leaving the right side of my neck completely exposed.

"You look beautiful." He whispers in my ear. We're watching each other in the mirror, and I catch the tail-end of the smirk that plays on his lips as he watches my eyes flutter shut and my breath hitch in response to his words.

"Thank you." My reply is barely audible but I know that he can hear it.

"You're welcome." He murmurs before kissing the spot just beneath my ear.

I want to turn, wind my arms around his neck, knot my fingers in his hair and do with him as I please, but I'm frozen to the spot. I couldn't move if I tried. I watch in the mirror as he uses his right hand to grasp the left side of my face. He presses his lips to my jaw once before turning my head towards him slightly so that I'm looking at him. He gazes at me for an unbearably long moment whilst his free hand dances back down to my thigh and starts to slowly, oh so agonisingly slowly, inch my dress upwards. He's teasing me, I can tell by the way he's keeping absolute eye contact with me as his fingers continue to push the material upwards. He's watching to see how much I can take before I beg for release. But I won't do that. Not yet, anyway. There's still a long way to go, there's so much more that I can take, before I start to beg.

The smallest possible smirk is playing on his lips as he finally closes the mere inches between us and kisses me slowly, gently. It's only a few seconds before he's pulling back. I open my eyes, about to protest, when I see the way he's looking at me. His expression is one of desire. Of hunger and lust. Of longing. Of everything I'm feeling towards him in this moment and more. He reaches for my waist, to turn me around fully, but I'm two steps ahead of him. My lips have already found his and I'm winding my arms around his neck, knotting my fingers in his hair and pressing my body as close to his as is humanly possible. Before I know it, my dress has been discarded and is lying in shreds on the floor, joined shortly after by his shirt which is in no better condition.

I don't know when or how we got to this point; last I remember he was apologising for his behaviour at Aimee's party. All I know is that he is mine and I am his. Nothing will ever tear us apart. We are one.

"Thalia?" He whispers in my ear before trailing kisses down my neck.

"Yes?"

"_Thalia?_" He repeats, a little louder this time.

I frown. Did he not hear me? "What is it, Godric?"

"THALIA!"

My eyes fly open and I find myself in my room, sprawled on top of the covers on my bed with Ethan stood over me. Confused, I reach out for something to cover myself with since Godric ripped off my dress.

Oh. No, hang on. I'm fully clothed. I blink a few times, trying to make sense of the situation and slowly, it comes to me. I almost groan in disappointment when I realise that my encounter with Godric was just a dream.

Disgruntled, I push myself up into a sitting position and push my hair out of my face. I glance down and realise I'm still wearing the same clothes from last night. I must have fallen asleep whilst pondering serious life choices. And by that I mean I was daydreaming about Godric.

"What do you want?" I ask Ethan, my voice hoarse from lack of use.

"Dad wants to know if you want any breakfast."

"What? No. I mean yes! Yes, I do. I'll be down in a few."

He leaves and I lie back down on my bed. I cover my face with my hands for a few seconds in an attempt to keep the finer details of the dream ingrained in my mind. That was intense, I think to myself with a reluctant smirk. Not that I'm complaining. Intense is good.

* * *

After an emotional goodbye from dad and Sarah, a crushing hug from Ethan and many, many tears from Danny, Josh and Lucy, I'm back at campus. I'm feeling relatively calmer than I was when I was last here on Friday, but that might be because I've been preoccupied with thoughts about a certain dream. It goes without saying that I would be one hundred percent ok with acting that dream out.

I have to suppress a laugh. Look at me, my mind dominated with fantasies about vampires. Or, one vampire in particular if you want to be picky. This time three weeks ago, I was scared to even look at a boy for too long in fear of my dad chasing us both down with a shotgun. Oh, how times change. And how people change, too. My dad has been unusually nice since I left for college and this weekend was no exception. I'm wondering if maybe my absence has perhaps softened his feelings towards me. Or perhaps he's finally realising that I'm not a child anymore and that I'm practically an adult, a grown woman, capable of making my own decisions. Either way, I'm not complaining.

When I get back to my room, Chloe's not in. She's gone out with a friend, according to the note she left me (Thalia, out with a friend. Shouldn't be too late. xo Chloe). I think about calling Godric, but just the thought of seeing him after my dream makes me blush. Will I be able to act normal around him? I don't know. I think I need at least a day to compose myself, until I can think about him without blushing scarlet. Because I'm one of those girls now, apparently.


	16. Chapter 16

A week and a half passes without any word from Godric. Not even a text. I would be worried but, well, he's a vampire. I suppose that they do this sort of thing, don't they? His absence gives me time to mull over my dream and what it meant. I can't decide whether this is a good or a bad thing.

I go about my business as normal. I attend my classes, I study in the library, I do my best to avoid Chloe (who is still acting like she's my best friend) which means that, more often than not, I find myself in the company of Aimee, who is rapidly becoming a close friend.

Following our disastrous appearance at Aimee's party, the stares and whispers that pursue me have increased, but I barely notice them anymore. I'm too preoccupied with my own thoughts. With the war that's waging inside of my head.

I know that I want him. This I know for certain. I want him more than I've ever wanted anyone, even Todd Griffiths in the tenth grade! A part of me - a rather large part of me - wants to give in to that feeling. To acknowledge that I desire him and let nature take it's course. If Godric and I are meant to be then we will be. If not…

Another part of me, though smaller than the other, is resisting these feelings. Because if I fall in love with a vampire, what will my dad say? More importantly, what will my dad _do? _I'm good at keeping secrets from dad, I always have been. But, for arguments sake, if Godric and I were together, would I want to keep that a secret? Would I want to keep something that made me so happy, hidden away? That wouldn't be fair on either of us.

"Thalia!"

I'm brought back to reality by Aimee's voice and I realise that I've completely zoned out on her. How long has she been talking? What was she talking about? Crap.

"What?" I reply innocently. I try to look as though she hasn't just roused me from an internal argument with myself, but Aimee isn't easily fooled.

"Did you listen to a word I just said?"

"Yes!" I say indignantly, because it would be rude to say otherwise. Though not as rude as slipping into a stupor whilst she was talking.

"What did I just say, then?"

Damn.

"I don't know." I admit. I hope she isn't going to be pissed.

Thankfully, she smiles. "Are you ok? You've been very…distant for the past week."

"I'm fine." I reply a little too quickly and she immediately looks suspicious. "I just having been sleeping well." This is kind of true. There have been nights where I haven't slept very well because I've tossed and turned in my bed, plagued by my dream and by other, um, thoughts about Godric. Other nights I've slept wonderfully, though I'm always accompanied by dreams about him. They're never the same. Some of them are intimate, some of them aren't. Some of them are frightening, but they all have one thing in common; I want him in those dreams just as much as I do in real life.

I really don't want to get into what's been keeping me up at night; I can barely stand to admit it to myself, never mind anyone else. I glance at my cell and see that it's past nine.

"I should get back. I want an early night." I tell Aimee. She opens her mouth to reply but is interrupted by a knock on the door. We both get up, I figure this could be my opportunity to escape without her questioning me on why I haven't been sleeping.

Aimee crosses over to the door whilst I shrug my jacket on and lift my bag to my shoulder. She pulls it open and I turn, about to excuse myself, but I'm frozen in my tracks.

"Aimee." Godric acknowledges her politely. He turns his gaze on me and, irritatingly, I blush. I'm involuntarily remembering the way those eyes looked at me during my dreams. I'm remembering the way that he gazed down at me in adoration, the way his eyes would fill with lust as he'd watch me hungrily and the way he'd raise an eyebrow as his lips would turn upwards an infinitesimal amount as a hint of a smirk played on his lips. It's all I can do to keep myself upright. There are butterflies in my tummy that have been there since the first dream, only they're about ten times stronger now that's he's here in the flesh.

"Hello, Thalia." He says with a small smile.

"Hi." I reply stupidly. "How did you know I was here?" I add, because Godric turning up without any possible way of knowing that I'm there seems to be on its way to becoming a recurring theme.

"I could hear you talking." He explains and I immediately feel like a moron. Of course, vampire senses!

Aimee has been watching us with an amused expression. I'm hoping that expression is due to something entirely unrelated to the present situation and not because she's picked up on how flustered I've become since Godric's arrival.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Aimee." I tell her as I make my way across the room towards the door.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." She says with a knowing smile and I know right then that she's going to be expecting an interesting encounter between Godric and I, which she hopes to hear all about tomorrow.

I try to keep my expression neutral as I step out of her room. I wait until she's closed to door behind me to look at him.

"Are you alright?" He asks me, as soon as I meet his gaze. He looks concerned. Of course he does, he doesn't know that my poker-straight expression is due to the fact that I'm actually imagining what it would be like to wrap my arms around his neck and knot my fingers in his hair for real, or what it would be like to kiss him like he kissed me last night in my dream.

"I'm fine." I attempt a smile. I'm not sure that I convince him but he lets it go, anyway. We start walking down the corridor. I let him lead the way and he takes me, not back to my room, but down the stairs and out of the building. I imagine for a moment that perhaps he wants to be alone with me just as much as I do with him.

"I'm sorry I haven't called. I've been…busy. Sheriff business." He says in a way of explanation, but which only leaves me more confused.

"Sheriff business? What are you talking about?"

"Well, I'm the vampire sheriff of Area nine."

For some reason, this amuses me. "Vampires have sheriffs?"

"Yes. We have our own political system. Sheriffs, Kings, Queens, the Authority. How else would we keep our kind under control?"

I ponder this for a moment. I guess I always assumed that the vampires lived under the same laws as us. That was ignorant of me, really. Why would they live under the rule of our political leaders when said leaders were doing their utmost to keep vampires from being granted the same rights as humans?

"I need you to be careful." He comes to a stop and stands directly in front of me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"What do you mean?"

"There are people, vampire and human, who may try to hurt you because of your association with me. I'll always protect you, as far as I'm able, but I just need you to be aware. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you because of me."

Instead of locking in on the part where he wouldn't be able to forgive himself if anything happened to me, like the fourteen year old version of myself might have whilst blushing with pleasure and gushing about what a gentleman he is, my mind is fixated on a different part.

"I appreciate that you'd go out of your way to protect me," I tell him, and I do. I do appreciate it. But I don't want it. Whilst it's a very noble and gentlemanly thing for him to say, I don't want him to think of me as something that needs protecting. "I don't want your protection, Godric. I can take care of myself. I don't need babysitting."

He looks at me for a long moment with an odd expression. I'm not sure what it is that he's looking at me with because he's trying to flatten it out under a blank expression. "I know you don't." He says after a long pause. "Just know that if needs be, I _will _protect you."


	17. Chapter 17

"_Just know that if needs be, I _will _protect you."_

I'm lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling as Godric's words replay in my head.

"_I _will _protect you."_

Protect me from what? Why the sudden concern for my safety?

"_I need you to be careful…"_

It's flattering, his concern for my safety. I just wish I knew where it had come from, all of a sudden. I could ask him, of course, but I have a feeling his answer would be evasive.

With a sigh, I close my eyes and decide that I should at least attempt to fall asleep because obsessing over Godric's words won't get me anywhere. Perhaps he didn't mean anything by them, I think. Maybe he's just generally concerned for my wellbeing.

* * *

The following night I take to aimlessly roaming the streets. Mostly because I'm bored. I realise that roaming the streets at night probably isn't what Godric had in mind when he asked me to be careful, but whatever.

I glance upwards and see that I've somehow found my way to the building that Godric took me to the top of that time. I smile at the memory. It was only the second time I'd met him, I barely knew him then, yet I still let him take me to the top of a thirty-storey building, away from all civilisation. Even then, I couldn't help but trust him. He's such a calm, collected and serene person that it's hard _not _to trust him. I wonder if he's always been like that. I doubt it. I'm sure that if he wanted, he could unleash hell.

"I thought I told you to be careful."

I whip around and find Godric stood a few feet behind, watching me closely. He doesn't look angry. He looks amused, actually. Amused and a little exasperated.

"I _am _being careful!"

"You're wandering around in the dark on your own. That's not being careful."

"Well, I'm ok, aren't I?"

"Do you ever take notice of anything that I say to you?" He asks, raising his eyebrows.

"Occasionally."

He rolls his eyes and I note how hot he looks when he does it.

_Really? _I'm that far gone that him _rolling his eyes _is hot? What is wrong with me?

"Are you going up?" He asks me, gesturing towards the top of the building with a nod of his head.

"I wasn't planning on it. Unlike some people that I could mention, I can't jump that high."

He smirks and holds his hand out to me. Unlike last time, he doesn't ask me if I trust him, because he knows that I do. I take the hand that he's proffering and in a couple of terrifying breath-taking seconds, we're stood atop of the building. Everything looks the same as it did last time. It hasn't changed, not one bit.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." I say, approaching the edge. "It's so beautiful."

"I wouldn't call it beautiful. Not with…" he pauses and looks at me sideways. He clears his throat awkwardly. "You know, the things I've seen."

I shrug, because I can't think of how to respond to that. It goes without saying that he's seen incredible things during his time, so why would a simple view overlooking Dallas be anything special?

"Well, I think it's beautiful because I've never seen much of anything." I reply eventually, though I'm sure that the moment is gone.

"I could show you."

"Show me what?"

"Everything."

I turn to face him and find him looking at me with such intensity that I have to immediately look away to hide the blush that creeps onto my skin. I look down at the ground and let my hair fall forwards, effectively shielding my face from his gaze.

It's probably worth mentioning that in one of my many dreams, he looked at me _exactly _like that and my blush is more to do with the fact that I'm recalling what came after that than anything else.

I don't think he notices the blush, but when I look up I see a small smile playing on his lips, which he hastily wipes away when he sees that I'm looking at him.

Without a word, he hoists himself up onto the waist high wall that we sat on last time, the one that keeps us from falling to the ground, but instead of sitting, this time he stands. One false move and he'd be tumbling towards the road below. He turns and holds his hand out to me, just like he did last time, and I take a step back.

"I'm not standing on there!"

"Why not?"

"Because, unlike you, if I fall, I'll die."

"I won't let you fall." He promises. "And if you do, I'll catch you."

"Be that as it may, I'm still not coming up there!"

He jumps down from the wall, smiling. "I forget how fragile you are."

Fragile? I'm not a china doll. "I'm not fragile!" I protest. "I'm human!"

"Yes, you are." His face becomes serious and he takes a few steps towards me. I'm frozen to the spot as he stands before me, gazing down at me with what I can only describe as desire. I'm convinced that I'm going to wake up any second, disappointed and frustrated in my bed back at campus, but I don't. This time it happens. There's no Chloe to come barging in and interrupt us and no Ethan to ruin the moment. There's only us, up on the top of this building, far away from any other person.

He places one hand on my waist and pulls me to him. His other hand cups my face. My heart is pounding and, I've wondered on it on many occasions, but this time I'm sure he can hear it, if the look on his face is anything to go by, anyway. We're pressed up against each other now. I'm frozen. I literally cannot move other than to breathe. Godric is inching slowly closer to me. _So _slowly. I can feel his breath on my face, count his eyelashes, feel every inch of his body pressed against my body, but _still _our lips remain apart. Our eyes meet and I'm sure that he's going to pull away, to change his mind, because in a perfect world there's no way someone like Godric would ever kiss someone like me, but apparently we're not in a perfect world, because just as I'm thinking this, his lips brush gently over mine. It's not a kiss exactly, but it's the kind of contact with him that I've been craving. Though it's a small movement, and a little short of what I want, the moment his lips touch mine, it feels like an electric current is surging through my body, thawing out my frozen limbs, and I'm able to move again. I wind my arms around his neck and he wraps his around my waist and this time, when our lips meet, it's real.


	18. Chapter 18

I kissed Godric. I _kissed _Godric. Godric kissed me.

That's literally all I've been thinking about since we parted. _He kissed me!_

And oh, what a kiss. It wasn't my first kiss by any means, but it was certainly the best. I can't even begin to describe the kind of feelings that kiss unlocked inside of me.

I'm lying in bed now, replaying that kiss over and over in my head. The way his fingers tangled themselves in my hair. The way he'd place both hands on my back and pull me closer. _Oh, _the way that, when I'd have to pull away to breathe, he'd kiss along my jaw line, down my neck and then back up to my mouth.

Yeah, it was a _good _kiss.

Except, after…well, I don't really know how long it was, he pulled away and sort of stared at me.

"What?" I said, a little breathlessly.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, looking down.

"Sorry for what?"

"I got a little carried away."

"No, don't be sorry."

He didn't answer, just looked away. "Can I walk you home?" He asked without looking at me.

I'll admit that I was a little disappointed that he didn't seem inclined to kiss me again.

"Sure."

We walked back to campus in silence. I couldn't tell what he was thinking; he'd kept his expression completely blank.

When we arrived outside of my building, we stood awkwardly for a few moments. He had his hands thrust in his pockets and was staring fixatedly at the ground whilst I was biting my lip worriedly.

"Well, bye then." I was the one to break the silence.

He looked up from the ground. "Goodbye." He said quietly and he stepped forward, unsure of himself, before pressing his lips, not to mine, as I'd hoped, but to my forehead, before departing.

I watched his retreating figure until the darkness swallowed him up and then I let out a sigh, because now I have no idea what to think.

I mean, that kiss was incredible, but afterwards he seemed so…not cold, exactly. But distant.

But still, _he kissed me!_

* * *

"He kissed you!"

"Ssh!" I glance around to check that no one heard Aimee's excited outburst and, thankfully, we seem to be alone. We're tucked into a distant corner of the library, but still, you never know who could be listening. The rumour that Chloe started is finally starting to fade, the last thing I want is to add fuel to the dying embers of the flame.

"Yes, he kissed me. Bu-"

"What was it like?" She cuts across me.

I can't help the grin that breaks through my concerned expression. "It was amazing." I say, looking down at the book that I'm holding as I blush at the memory.

"Then what's wrong?"

I sigh. "Well, when he pulled away he looked kind of horrified and just stared at me and then apologised."

"He apologised?" She frowns. "What for?"

I shrug. "He said he got carried away."

Her eyes widen in shock. "Did he bite you?" She demands.

"What? No! I'd think I'd remember that."

"He could have glamoured you to forget."

"Glamoured me?"

"Yeah, it's what they call their mind-control thing."

"Well if he did that, why wouldn't he just glamour me to forget the whole thing?"

Aimee shrugs. "Good point. So what happened after that?"

"He walked me home, said goodbye and kissed my forehead."

"That's all?" She sounds just as disappointed as I felt.

"That's all." I confirm with a sigh.

"So what does that mean? Are you like, together now or what?"

"I don't think so. It was only a kiss."

"A kiss? _A?_"

My grin returns. "Ok, a few."

"Have you spoken since? Like, texted or?"

"No. And believe me, I've been checking my cell constantly." I take it out now and check to see if I have messages. I have three, one off Chloe, my dad and Ethan. None from Godric.

"So you definitely like him then? Like, _like _like him?"

"Yes." It feels so good to finally have someone to confide in. "I really do. I didn't want to admit it before because, you know, he's a vampire and I'm a human and there's no way he'd ever like me, etc, but then he kissed me and, seriously, wow."

I close the book in my lap and place it on the table, too wired up to even pretend to read it, now. I'm about to suggest that I call him later on when a horrible thought hits me.

"You don't think I was a bad kisser do you?" I say in horror. "Is that why he went all awkward and distant?"

Aimee laughs, but this does nothing to alleviate my worry. "Oh, honey. I'm sure you were fine. Besides, if he's been around a long time, he's going to have come across much worse kissers than you."

This isn't really a comforting thought.

* * *

Godric doesn't call. Or text. There's no word from him whatsoever. Which, of course, has me terrified that I've done something wrong.

I'm checking my phone for what must be the tenth time in fifteen minutes when I realise how paranoid I'm being. I did nothing wrong (I hope). He kissed me, I kissed him back. Something spooked him and now he's balked, but that's not my fault. I decide then to just get on with things, to stop worrying and let him come to me when he's ready. It'll be fine. It will.

I've told myself this so many times in the past hour that I'm actually starting to believe it, but Chloe's noticed that something's up.

"Are you sure you're ok?" She asks for the third time.

"I'm fine." I say. I try to shoot her a smile but she doesn't look convinced.

"Did something happen with you and Godric?" She asks me, leaning forward confidentially.

Yes, I think. "No." I say. After what happened back in the first week of college, she's the last person I'll be telling. I still don't trust her and her sudden sugary attitude towards me. She's just being too nice.


	19. Chapter 19

It's a few days before I see Godric. Four, to be precise. I'm coming out of the library late one night, having finally finished a monster of an essay, and find him leaning against the wall next to the door. I wonder how long he's been waiting there.

"Hi." I say awkwardly, because I'm not really sure how things are between us, you know, after he fucked off and didn't call me for days, like a sixteen year old boy.

"Hello." He replies, just as awkwardly, as he pushes himself off of the wall.

I start walking away from the library and he follows.

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a while." We both know that 'in a while' means 'since you kissed me'.

"I've been thinking."

"Oh? What about?"

His answer brings me up short. "You, mostly."

"Oh." I frown. "What about me?"

"About what happened between us."

"You mean when you kissed me?" I come to a stop and turn to face him fully.

He looks down. For some reason he looks ashamed. Why? "Yes." He mutters.

"Why are you acting as though it's such a bad thing?" I demand, nettled by how ashamed he looks.

"Do you not think that it is?"

"No, of course not. Why, do you?"

"No. I was just worried that you might."

I frown, because I can't imagine why he would even begin to think that kissing him would be a bad thing. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I'm a vampire." He says slowly, as though the answer is obvious.

"That doesn't make any difference to me. I thought you knew that."

He shrugs and I feel irrationally angry; why would he think that him being a vampire would make kissing him a bad experience? Does he really think that low of me? No, does he really think that low of _himself?_

"Fine. You know what, if that's how you feel about it then we can just forget it ever happened." It pains me to say this, but if he feels like just kissing him might have been bad for me, just because he's a vampire, then what hope do we have of ever moving forward from that? How would he feel about it if we actually got together and went further than kissing?

"Do you want to forget that it ever happened?"

"No, I don't. But clearly you do. So whatever, consider it forgotten." I turn to walk away and he grabs my arm.

"No, I don't. That's why I'm here. I don't want to forget that it ever happened."

"Then why are you being like this?"

"Thalia, you are so innocent. So pure. To me, you're the embodiment of everything that is good in the world. But I'm not. I'm not a good person. My past is littered with two thousand years worth of horrific acts. Abominable deeds. Every bad thing that you can imagine, I'm sure to have done it. I regret every moment of every bit of hurt that I've caused and I've tried to become a better person, but what would it say about me if I took you and I tainted your innocence? Brought you down to my level."

"You won't."

He laughs, though I can't imagine a moment I've found less funny than this one. He shakes his head and looks at me through sad eyes. "You don't understand."

"Yes, I do. But I don't think that _you _do. Don't you see? The fact that you've realised your mistakes and tried to become a better person, the fact that you're worried that you'll, I don't know, corrupt me, shows how much you've grown. I don't know what you've done in the past, and quite frankly, I don't want to. All I know is that the you that I know now, the person you are today, is not a bad one. There have been countless times that you could have hurt me, could have taken advantage of me, but you didn't. Now what does _that _say?"

He stares at me for a few long moments and I can't for the life of me figure out what he's thinking. I think he might walk away without another word, or perhaps try to convince me of what a bad person he is, but he doesn't. Slowly, he smiles and I feel myself relax.

"Where do we go from here then?"

I'm surprised, because that certainly was not the answer that I was expecting. Pleasantly surprised, though. I ponder this for a moment. "Well, you could walk me home." I suggest.

"That's not what I me-"

"I know that's not what you meant." I hold my hand out to him and he takes it. "We don't have to rush into anything. We have all the time in the world."

Godric and I walk back to my building, our fingers intertwined. By the time we reach the front doors, the awkwardness has evaporated and we're much at ease with each other than we have been, well, ever.

"I'd invite you in," I say. "But Chloe's upstairs and she might have a heart attack."

"Well that would be awful." He says lightly and I laugh. It's nice to know that, despite her complete turn in attitude towards Godric and I, he still doesn't trust her either, and his senses are much sharper than mine.

"I have things to attend to, anyway."

"Sheriff things?"

"Sheriff things." He confirms.

"So I will see you…when?"

"Tomorrow?" He suggests.

I nod and he leans in. I think he's going to kiss my cheek, because that's the sort of thing that he would do, but he surprises me by pressing his lips very gently to mine. It's not intense, like our first kiss was, but it's sweet and, of course, it leaves me wanting more. I remind myself not to push it, though, because I've only just managed to convince him that kissing me isn't such a bad thing. In fact, I'm surprised he came around so quickly.

He pulls away and presses his forehead against mine. "Until tomorrow, then." He murmurs.

"Yes," I reply and he draws away from me. His hand, which is still holding mine, brings them both up to his lips and he places a light kiss on the back of my hand. I grin and blush, because I feel like a love-struck schoolgirl, which I suppose I am. Or like I'm starring in an epic romance, which I'm not but a girl can dream. I wait until Godric's retreating figure has disappeared into the night before I let myself into the building. I'm still grinning like an idiot, but I really couldn't care less.


	20. Chapter 20

Thank you to everyone who has read/favourited/subscribed/reviewed etc. I appreciate it all! Also, someone asked me if I could make the chapters longer. I will try, but I'm not promising anything. I don't have that much time to write the chapters (I know I've updated like three times today but that's because it's my day off) so yes, I will try.

* * *

I've only ever been in love a handful of times. A lot less than you would expect of someone my age. The first time I fell for a girl I knew shortly before I was turned. She was kind to me, unlike so many others. It was short-lived, of course. In fact, I killed her. I didn't want to; my maker commanded it. It was his idea of entertainment, forcing me to kill the girl that he knew full well I was infatuated with.

The second was a girl I met a little while before I met and turned Eric. My idea of love was corrupt back then. Twisted and warped out of shape. It was unhealthy. I became obsessed. I wanted to own her, to have ever little bit of her, to control every aspect of her life. It didn't end well.

I fell in love again in the ninth, the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries. They were all very short-lived and passed without incident. I don't take the turning of a human lightly, though, and not one of those girls were suited to immortality.

I've fallen once again and this time on a much deeper level. I understand love and human compassion now. I never thought that I'd feel it, though. I didn't realise for a long while that, that was what I was feeling. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. The love I held for the other girls was…wrong. I loved them for all the wrong reasons. It's not like the love I feel for my children, Eric and Nora, either. The bond between maker and child runs much, much deeper than any other.

It took me a long time to realise and an even longer time to admit it to myself, because she's so inherently pure. So good. She's seen nothing of the horrors that the world has to offer, nothing of the terror that _my _world holds. I want to give her everything but nothing at the same time, because she'll be so much better off not knowing me. But who am I to resist when she stares at me, wide-eyed and wondering, as though she can't even begin to phantom a reason why we would be so wrong together, even though I've already given her so many? She isn't afraid of me, either, though she very well should be. I could destroy her entire life, if I was so inclined (though I would never dream of it) and I'm sure that she knows that. She knows what I am and what I can do, but still she doesn't flinch when I touch her, or recoil when I get too close.

In short, she gives me hope. A reason to live. And I think that I love her.

* * *

It's been at least an hour since I got in. I think I'm still on some sort of high because, well, you know. I don't know if I can call Godric my boyfriend, it seems a little too soon to be calling him that, but at least I managed to convince him that us kissing was not such a bad thing. I suppose that we are sort of together. Or are we? I don't know. We have all the time in the world to iron out the details.

I feel a little nervous when I think of how my dad will react if he finds out. He'll be livid. His daughter dating a vampire, he might die of the shame. I don't know how my mother put up with him; she was such a good person. Or, that's what Ethan tells me, anyway. He remembers her better than I do. I wish she was still here; I miss her.

"I saw you tonight." Chloe comes swanning into our room as I'm lay on my bed, flicking through a book. She wasn't in when I got home, though I thought that she would be. I can't think where she's been; she does all her work in here (hence why I go to the library) and she can't have been on a date because she'd be out all night if she was. I suppose she could have been hanging out with friends, though Chloe doesn't really have friends, she has followers.

"Oh?" I say, uninterested.

"With Godric." I freeze. If Chloe saw anything that she deemed incriminating then you can bet that the fangbanger insults will be flying at me left, right and centre as of tomorrow morning.

"Yep." I say casually, trying to remain nonchalant.

"Kissing."

_Fuck._

"And I suppose you're jealous," I say, sitting up as I close my book. I'm throwing caution to the winds by answering this way but if she's going to rev the rumour back up then there's nothing that I can do to stop it. "You know, since you have such a big crush on him and all."

She looks at me blankly for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. "Oh, no, hon. I got over that, like, days ago. Besides, I have a new crush now."

"Oh, you do, do you?" I say. "Who?" I'm trying to get her off the subject of Godric and I, turn the conversation back around to her so that she'll forget what she saw.

"Yeah, his name is Steve or something. I don't know. Anyway, I think it's great that you and Godric are together. You are together, right?"

"I, no, I mean…ye-maybe. Sort of. I guess."

"So cute!" She gushes. She turns away from me and, in the mirror opposite her, I can see that the second she turns away from me, her delighted expression changes immediately into one of revulsion. She sees me watching her, though, and immediately plasters a smile back on her face. I know right then that she is not to be trusted. Not at all.

* * *

"Momma?"

"Hey, sweetie."

I'm lying on what feels like a bed made of feathers. I'm in a large room that I don't recognise. It's empty except for the bed that I'm lay on and the chair that sits next to it, in which sits my mom. There's a soft light pouring into the room, from a window I expect. It fills the whole room with a sort of hazy glow. I can't make sense of the situation. Where am I?

Mom is gazing down at me as she strokes back my hair. I smile; she used to do that when I was little, I think. I was scared of the dark so she'd sit by my bed, stroke my hair and read to me. Or sing. Whichever took her fancy. She's doing that now. Singing, I mean. I don't know the words and she's singing too softly for me to make them out but I recognise it as a song she sang to both Ethan and I when we were ill.

"What are you doing here, momma?" I ask her, because she can't be here. My mom is dead.

"I came to tell you something." She murmurs.

"But you're dead, momma. You fell down the stairs."

An odd look crosses her face. She looks almost angry. "Is that what he told you?"

"Who?"

"Listen to me, sweetheart." She leans down and cups my face. "Your father is a bad man. I need you to be careful."

_I need you to be careful, _didn't Godric say the exact same thing to me?

"Why does everyone keep telling me to be careful?" I grumble.

"Because you need to be reminded, baby. You're too trusting, like I was."

"No, I'm not." I mutter, thinking of Chloe, because there's no way in hell that I trust her.

"I have to go." She says abruptly. "Remember what I said." She stands to leave and I try to reach out and grab her, to keep her here by force.

"Don't go, momma. I miss you!" I'm like a child. When it comes to my mother, though, that's exactly what I am. I lost her so young and missed out on everything that a girl is supposed to go through with her mom. I mean, I had Sarah but it wasn't quite the same.

"I have to." She whispers. She leans down and kisses my forehead. "I love you."

"Mom, no." I try to get up but my body's too heavy. "Mom!" I yell. "_Mom!"_

I wake with a start, covered in sweat. My sheets are all tangled around me and I'm panting, as though I've just run a mile.

_What the hell was that?_

It was a dream, obviously, but it felt _so _real! Not blurry and out of focus like dreams usually are.

_Your father is a bad man._

Why would she say that? She loved him, didn't she? He was devastated when she died, I remember it like it was yesterday, despite me being so young.

With my heart still racing, I close my eyes and attempt to fall back to sleep. Whatever it meant, I'll figure it out in the morning.


	21. Chapter 21

_Firstly, I'd like to apologise for leaving it so long between updates. I've had a really busy week working overtime and haven't had a day off and when I've finished my shifts all I've felt like doing is sleeping and eating. It took me so long to write this chapter because I've just been so tired and I know it's short and not particularly exciting but I've got my first day off since the 10th on Friday so I'll try and fit some updates in there! x_

* * *

I don't sleep well that night. I'm plagued with dreams in which my mother weaves in and out of. She's always in the distance, just out of reach. I shout for her but she can't hear me, or if she can then she ignores me. I run after her but I can never run quite fast enough, like I'm wading through water, and by the time I reach the spot that I saw her, she's gone. It's maddening and my frustration doesn't let up when I wake, either. If anything, I'm more frustrated than ever.

By the time that night has fallen again and I'm on my way to meet Godric, I've decided that it was nothing more than a dream. Purely a figment of my subconscious, because there's no way that my dead mom visited me in a dream to give me a cryptic warning about my dad. I mean, I have an open mind and all, but that's just ridiculous.

"Thalia?"

I realise that I've walked much farther than I'd intended when I'm brought out of my reverie to find Chloe only a few feet away from me. She's leaning against a wall, talking to a dark-haired man that I don't recognise.

"Oh. Hey, Chloe." I say. I glance at the man who is watching me without much interest and then back to Chloe. I'm racking my brains for some excuse not to stop, but I'm not coming up with much. It doesn't matter though, as Chloe takes the reigns.

"This is Steve." She tells me and I shoot him a polite smile. "Steve, this is Thalia." She puts an unnecessary amount of emphasis on my name and Steve suddenly seems interested.

"A pleasure to meet you." He says, holding out his hand. I take it, wondering what Chloe has told him about me for him to become suddenly interested at the mention of my name. Maybe she's been bitching about me to him, about Godric and I. It wouldn't surprise me, she's told everyone else she's ever met so why wouldn't she? I'm not all too bothered though. She can do what she wants, I've stopped caring.

* * *

A week goes by and though my dream stays with me - it'd be rather hard to forget - I find myself dwelling on it less and less every day. I didn't end up telling Godric about it, because it was just a dream. It didn't mean anything. If I told him then he'd just worry about the effect that it was having on me and he doesn't need to worry.

In fact, I don't tell anyone. Not even Ethan, and especially not my dad. I can only imagine how angry he'd get if he knew I was having dreams in which my mother warned me against him. Whatever. Just a dream.

"Are you alright?"

Godric is watching me, concerned, and I realise that I haven't been listening to a word he's been saying.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You've been very…distant."

Distant? That's news to me. Apart from zoning out just then, I've been acting relatively normal, or so I'd thought. If anyone would pick up on a change in my mood, though, it's him.

I'm about to open my mouth to reply when my cell starts ringing. Frowning, I reach for it. Who could be ringing at this time? It's so late. The only reason that I'm still up is because I don't have class tomorrow and if I want to see Godric then I have to stay up late.

My display shows that it's Ethan. It's half past two, what's so urgent that it couldn't wait until morning?

I pick up and before I can get a word in edgeways, Ethan is talking incoherently down the phone, tripping over his words in his haste to get them out. I have absolutely no idea what he's trying to say.

"Woah! Slow down! Say it again, slowly. What's wrong?"

"Please don't hate me."

_What? _"What have you done?" I'm worried now.

"Dad found out about Matthew."

"_WHAT? _How?"

"Wait, that's not even the worst bit. We were arguing about it and dad was so angry and I was so mad and it kind of just slipped out. I didn't mean it to. I didn't even realise I'd said it until I was saying it and by that time it was too late."

I'm filled with a sort of ice-cold dread. Because there's only one thing, other than Matthew, that my father could have found out about that is making Ethan act this way.

"He knows." Ethan says as he lets out a deep breath. "He knows about you."

I don't wait another second. I hang up and started gathering my stuff. If my dad knows then there's only one place he'll be coming; here. To drag me back home. And I can't let that happen.

"Where are you going?" Godric asks, alarmed.

"Didn't you hear any of that?"

"Yes. All of it."

"Well, I have to go. He'll be on his way to campus and I have to go and convince him that what Ethan said was a lie."

"I could help." He begins, getting up and reaching for one of my hands. I don't exactly snatch it away, but I really need to get going.

"No, I need to deal with this myself. If I can't convince him then we will never see each other again. _Never. _He'll lock me in my room or send me away to a correctional institute or something." It sounds far-fetched but it wouldn't be at all surprising if that actually happened. He's threatened to do worse.

"I won't let that happen. You know I won't." He says fiercely and for a moment I want him to wrap his arms around me and never let go. To protect me from everything bad in the world. But only for a moment. I don't indulge, though I very badly want to, because I have an angry anti-vampire father to deal with.


	22. Chapter 22

_Apologies guys. I fully intended to do quite a few updates today with it being my day off and all but as fate would have it, I've been ill and it took me hours to write this (very badly written in my opinion) chapter. Ugh. I will try and get a couple of updates in before work tomorrow as I'm not in til six. Also, sorry it's short!_

* * *

I only just make it in time.

Aimee's in and still up, and Chloe's out, probably with a guy, thank god. I drag Aimee into my room, quickly explain what's going on, and shove a movie into the tv when there's a sharp knock on the door. I say sharp knock but it's more of a 'open-this-door-now-or-I'll-kick-it-down' type knock.

I lounge on my bed and try to look like I've been there for hours. Aimee crosses over cautiously to the door and pulls it open. My dad is stood there, red in the face, looking thunderous.

"Dad!" I say, summoning as much surprise as I can. "What are you doing here?" I push myself up from the bed.

"Where is he?" He growls, still standing in the doorway.

Aimee and I exchange 'confused' looks before I look back at my dad. "Where's who?"

"You know perfectly well who. Ethan told me!"

I frown, outwardly expressing utter confusion though inside I'm freaking the hell out. He's sure to see through me.

"Daddy, I don't know what you're talking about. Ethan told you what?"

His expression softens infinitesimally when I call him 'daddy', but he still doesn't look like he believes me.

"He told me about you and that vampire." He says the word 'vampire' with so much contempt that I know in that moment that, even if I wanted to, I'll never be able to come clean about Godric.

"Vampire?" I widen my eyes and allow a small laugh to escape my lips. I hope my expression is incredulous. "What vampire?"

He's started to have doubts, thank god. I can see it in his expression. He's watching me uncertainly. He glances at Aimee, who's playing her part well by standing there and looking completely and utterly nonplussed, and back at me again.

"If you're lying to me…" be begins aggressively and I throw my hands up in exasperation.

"Dad, I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. Whatever Ethan said, well, it's not true. I've never even met a vampire, dad!"

Please buy it. Please believe it. Please. I repeat these words over and over in my head whilst he stares at me, not sure what to believe. Ethan had better make sure he tells dad that he was lying, the moron. I realise that I'm holding my breath and try not to let it out too heavily when I exhale, since this will only make my dad suspicious; why would I be holding my breath, too nervous to breathe, if I have nothing to hide?

Luck seems to be on my side tonight, though, and I think dad believes me, because after a few more moments of looking uncertain, he turns on his heel and leaves without a word. Ethan is going to be in a lot of trouble. Though I'm still mad at him, I have to warn him since he had the decency to do the same for me. I take out my cell and dial his number. He picks up on the first ring.

"Thalia? Are you ok? What happened?"

"I lied through my teeth and I think he bought it."

"Where is he now?"

"On his way home, I think. Probably to kill you. I told him you lied about it."

Ethan sighs and I can imagine him running his hand through his hair with a troubled expression. I feel bad because now Ethan has to deal with my dad's wrath, but prejudiced though he is, gay people are way above vampires in his mind.

"Are you gonna be ok? Do you need me to come home?"

"No, it's fine. I'll think of something. Look after yourself, ok?"

"You too."

I hang up and turn to Aimee who's still stood by the open door. "Wow, your dad's kind of intense."

"My dad's an asshole."

* * *

The sun has been down little over ten minutes when I run into Godric. Literally, I walk right into him. I'm going down to the store across the road and as soon as I open the door and step out into the night, I walk smack-bang into Godric. Which isn't pleasant; it's like walking into a brick wall!

"I'm sorry." He says, catching hold of my arm so that I don't fall. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I mean, I'll probably bruise because I'm not made of bricks like you apparently are but aside from that."

He smiles and shakes his head. "That's not what I meant. What happened with your father?"

Oh. That.

"I lied, told him I had no idea what he was talking about and then he left."

"So you're ok?"

"I'm fine."

"I was worried that he'd hurt you. I know how people can react when it comes to vampires."

I'd like to tell him that my dad would never hurt me, but I think that in this case, he might actually crack. My dad's hit me before. Not like a full-on punch or anything like that. He didn't abuse me. But if I was being naughty I'd get a slap on the hand and a stern warning. Ethan got the same treatment. He doesn't do it with the younger kids, though. Sarah would have his head if he did.

"I'm fine, Godric. Really."

"And your brother?"

Ethan texted me this morning. Dad was furious when he got back, apparently. He could hear him and Sarah arguing in whispers so as to not wake the kids, but he won't talk to Ethan. Won't even look at him. They'll have it out eventually, I'm sure. But for now, things are quiet.

"He's ok for the time being."

He moves so fast that I don't see it coming. One moment I'm stood before him on the sidewalk, the next I'm pressed against his chest. One arm is wrapped around my waist, pulling me against him, the other on the back of my head. He pulls away much too quickly for my liking and I'm about to protest when he holds out his hand to me.

"Come."

"Come where?"

"Wherever we feel like."


	23. Chapter 23

_Ok, normally I don't upload a chapter unless it's more than 1,000 words but I have to go to work and I can't think of what else to put in this chapter so, so sorry it's short. I absolutely will make sure that the next update is long and as interesting as I can possibly make it. Oh, now that Godric and Thalia are getting more serious, should I change the rating to M? _

* * *

It almost feels like a dream. One dream in particular, actually. The first dream I had about him. This time, however, I'm stood in front of the glass wall that forms one side of his house, instead of a mirror. I can still see his reflection though, as he draws closer. We make eye contact through our reflections just as he comes to a stand still behind me. He's close enough that I can sense him there, but not so that we're touching, much to my dismay.

He reaches out with his hand and sweeps my hair to one side. His fingers brush against my skin very slightly and I can feel how cold they are. How cold he is. It feels nice, actually.

He rests his hands on my waist and takes a small step forward so that our bodies are flush. He leans down and ever so slightly brushes his lips against my neck. I bite down on my bottom lip in anticipation. I so rarely see him like this. He's usually so reserved, so careful. Like he thinks he could break me with the slightest touch, which in all fairness he probably could. He doesn't pull away, though I expect him to. He pulls me gently around so that I'm facing him. He looks at me for a moment, letting one hand fall to my waist whilst he raises the other to my face and lets the backs of his fingers brush against my skin. Then he kisses me.

* * *

Her skin is so pale. So flawless. So soft. She smells incredible, too. A virgin, I believe. The darker side of me wishes to sink my fangs into that skin, just to taste her. But I won't. I would never. Not without her permission.

Had I met her a thousand years ago, her permission would have meant very little to me. I would have taken her whether she liked it or not. The thought saddens me and I hope that, if I had met her in those days, she would have had the same effect on me that she does today. That I would have treated her as a person and not a possession.

She stands before me and I can't help myself. Initially, I wanted to take things slow, so that she could get to know me. _All _of me. Dark side and all. I wanted her to know exactly what she was getting herself into. I intended to make it clear to her that, if at anytime she found herself uncomfortable or afraid, then she would be free to walk away she would never hear of me or see me ever again. I intended to do all of this before things started to get…physical. And yet I can't seem to help myself. So when I lean down to press my lips to her neck and she doesn't stop me, I don't pull away.

* * *

This is our first proper kiss since the one on the roof. And, oh, it is _good._ I mean, really. And it's not like I haven't wanted to kiss him since then. Of course I have. Just, with his cautious approach towards me and college and stuff, we haven't had that much time alone together.

But we're alone now. Very much so.

I push myself up onto tiptoes so that I'm level with him and place my hands on either side of his face.

Without breaking the kiss, without so much as a falter, he pulls me upwards so that both of my legs are wrapped around his waist. He does it so smoothly that I can only assume that he's strong enough to support my weight without much effort. In fact, he seems strong enough to support my weight with only one hand because the other one is tangled in my hair.

He pulls away for a moment, to let me catch my breath perhaps, and as he leans back in, there's a sudden _click _and there are two fangs poking out from beneath his lips. Two very lethal looking fangs. I gasp and my eyes widen in shock, because I've never seen his fangs before, not really, and for the first time I'm seeing him the way that vampires are betrayed; as a monster. He truly does look terrifying with those fangs which I'm sure are very capable of ripping out my throat.

Ashamed, he covers his mouth with one hand and lets me down with the other. "I'm sorry." He murmurs, turning away from me. "I'd forgotten that, that happens."

I frown, because even though I know that he's capable of hurting me with those, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he won't. I trust him. And I tell him as much.

"Your trust in me may be…misplaced." He says quietly, refusing to look at me

Oh no. No. He's not doing this again. The whole I'm-a-monster-don't-trust-me-run-for-your-life thing. I won't let him.

"Shut_ up._" I don't give him a chance to respond, to try and convince me that what we're doing is wrong. I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his, silencing him. He can't be that opposed to it otherwise he'd stop me, but he doesn't.


	24. Chapter 24

I can't remember the last time I felt something so strong. So pure. This feeling, the way I feel about her, isn't fuelled by blood lust or obsession, as has been the way in the past. I don't long for her blood, though I'm sure it would taste incredible. I don't want to own her or possess her. I'm not infatuated or obsessed. This time it's real.

I can't quite take my eyes off her. She backs down onto the bed so that she's lying down, taking me with her. She's nervous, I can tell. Her heartbeat accelerates every time I touch her, even in the smallest way. For example, I run my hand down one of her legs, stopping behind the knee so that I can bring it up around my waist. Her breath hitches, her heart rate quickens and colour rushes to her cheeks. I don't know if she knows that I can hear her heartbeat or how easily I can sense her emotions. From the way that she can't quite look me in the eyes right now, I would say that she does. I want to tell her that she doesn't need to be embarrassed, that I like it, but I don't think that drawing attention to it would do anything to make her any less self-conscious about it.

* * *

When I was in tenth grade, I had the biggest crush on a guy called Todd. He was tall with golden hair and blue eyes. A jock, of course. Quarterback of the football team. The kind of guy you'd see in a teen romance. He didn't know the I existed until I was lucky enough to get invited to a party he was also invited to. To cut a long and embarrassing story short, I was coerced into a game of spin the bottle and, as fate would have it, when it was his turn, the bottle landed on me. Oh, I was thrilled. When he kissed me, I felt butterflies, saw fireworks, all that stuff. I thought that it was the best kiss I had ever or would ever have.

Before I met Godric, that is.

I get butterflies when he _looks _at me. When he kisses me…well, that's something else entirely. It feels like every emotion possible - desire, lust, longing, yearning, for example - is running through every fibre of my being, like an electric current. I feel like time comes to a standstill, like we're the only two people left on earth.

* * *

"Is this what you want?" I ask her. I can't not ask, not when I know that this isn't territory that she's familiar with. She nods and I lean down to kiss her neck.

* * *

_900 AD_

I pull myself upwards, detaching myself from her neck and she groans. My fangs are dripping with her blood. It tastes like sunshine. The crimson substance is smeared across my face. I take a finger and wipe a drop from the corner of my mouth before sucking on the bloodstained tip of my forefinger, not wanting to waste even such a small amount. I can't take anymore from her, not today, I'll end up killing her and that would be such a shame. I bite into my wrist and hold it to her mouth for a few seconds. I watch as the small puncture marks on her neck heal and she sits up, pushing herself away from me as she struggles to stand.

"Ariadne." I say in a way of warning. She knows I don't like it when she tries to get away. She does it a lot. I have to glamour her sometimes. Other times, sheer force is enough.

"Leave me be." She mutters in Greek, finally finding her feet and taking a few steps away from me.

Angered, I shoot up and roughly pull her to me. "I will not." I snarl. "You are _mine._"

She submits straight away, which isn't unusual. I can be _very _persuasive. Whether it's because she knows that I'll force her into submission anyway, or because she wants to, I don't care. She should be grateful that I ever troubled myself to learn her name.

I wind my arms around her waist and start trailing kisses from her collarbone, up her neck, across her jaw to her mouth. I leave a trail of scarlet smudges where my bloody lips have made contact with her skin. Ordinarily, I don't claim humans as my own. I've never felt so attached to one to be inclined to do so. When it comes to Ariadne…her blood is like nothing I've ever tasted. Her hair is the same colour as the sun, I imagine. Having not seen the sun in over a thousand years, I can only guess. Her skin almost glows in the moonlight. Everything about her screams perfection, except me, of course. I am her one flaw. I'm slowly dragging her into the darkness with no intention of ever stopping. It's an obsession. An infatuation. She is mine. I own her. I want every little bit of her and her life under my control.

Is this love? It feels like what I imagine love to be. Eric thinks me foolish, but what does he know? My child is still young, an infant. Perhaps one day he will learn what it means to be in love.

"What do you want from me?" Ariadne whispers as she gazes up at me fearfully. I sigh, because I've told her many times what I want.

"Everything." I murmur in fluent Greek. "I want everything from you. And if you won't give it to me, I'll take it."

* * *

_Present day_

I've been here before, in my dreams. I keep expecting to wake up, to be unceremoniously roused from my fantasy, but it doesn't happen. This is real, and it's happening right now. I'm kind of scared. No, not scared. Nervous. Because I may or may not be about to sleep with a vampire. A two thousand year old vampire. Who would have thought? It doesn't help that I've never done this before. Ever. I mean, he doesn't know that as I've never told him, but still, with two thousand years of experience I'm sure it won't take him long to figure it out.

Slowly, he pulls my shirt up and off. He tosses it on the floor and then sits up to remove his own shirt. It joins mine on the floor and he leans back down. I trace my fingers across the tattoo on his chest before moving my hand from his collarbone to cup his face. He presses his lips to mine and I notice that the way he's kissing me has changed slightly. He's not being as careful or as gentle. This kiss is urgent and more forceful than usual. I like it.

Slowly, much too slowly for my liking, we rid each other of our clothes. My jeans end up at the opposite end of the room, slightly worse for wear. His are a little better, since I don't possess the strength to tear denim with my bare hands.

Gradually, he lowers himself so that, for the first time, our bodies are pressed together without any material barrier. My heart is thudding so loudly that I can hear it myself, but for the first time, I don't care. I've got much more pressing matters on my mind.

Godric presses his forehead gently to mine. His eyes are closed and he's breathing heavily. Both of his hands are gripping the sheets, one either side of my head. He opens his eyes and gazes down at me. He grazes my lips ever so slightly with his and at the same time pushes himself inside of me.


	25. Chapter 25

_Sorry if this is an awful chapter. I'm horrible at writing sex scenes. Also, rating is now M. Forgot to do it last night but it's done now :)_

* * *

I inhale sharply. His lips are still ghosting over mine as he continues to ease himself inside me. It hurts and I find that my hands, now resting on his shoulders, are curling into fists. It's only for a moment, though. By the time that he's fully inside of me, the pain has gone and is replaced by a burning desire in the pit of my stomach.

Godric pushes a strand of my hair back and tucks it behind my ear before he starts to move an- _oh. _Oh _god. _It feels kind of incredible. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me so that I can kiss him. This action pulls him forward and thus deeper inside of me. A small moan escapes my lips and my hands curl into fists again, pulling on the hair at the nape of his neck. It's out of pleasure this time, though. Not pain.

A low, guttural sound comes from somewhere deep inside him and his movements become a little more forceful.

He hitches one of my legs up and around his waist and thrusts into me again. I arch my back and moan, properly this time, as butterflies explode inside me.

He runs his hands up my sides before placing them, once again, on either side of my head. I feel, rather than see, his hands bunch up into fists. He must be exerting quite a bit of strength because, despite my fixation right now on Godric and Godric only, I hear the fabric beneath his fingers tearing.

I don't know how long we go on for. It feels like hours. He's grazing my jawbone with his teeth - not fangs - and I'm clutching at him and crying out when I feel it building. It's upon me before I have time to comprehend what's happening. Before I know it, I'm arching my back again, clutching the sheets and crying out his name as I climax. It's amazing. It's like nothing I've ever felt before. It's as though everything I feel for him and everything I'm feeling right now has joined together and exploded in a burst of pleasure, leaving my body exhausted, aching and almost certainly bruised

He's not far behind. He's still at my neck, alternating between kissing it and gently grazing it with his teeth when I feel his fangs descend. He pushes himself into me, hard, one last time before he cries out in a very rare momentary loss of control.

I don't know how long we lie there in our post-sex euphoria. It could have been days, I really wouldn't know. I think I even fall asleep at one point. We lie there, motionless with our legs entangled. After a while, Godric props himself up on his elbow and uses his other hand to trail his fingers down the side of my body furthest away from him. When he reaches my hip, he grips it gently and pulls me so that I'm on my side, facing him.

"Are you ok?" He asks me quietly, searching my face for any indication that I might not be.

I nod slowly, still tired.

"You're covered in bruises." He says and I catch the guilt in his tone as he traces the purple marks on my thigh. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." I tell him, my voice cracking from lack of use. I must have been out quite a while. "What time is it?"

"Five."

"Five am?" Wow, it's been like eight hours then since we met outside my building.

"Five in the afternoon." He corrects me. "You slept through the entire day." _What? _No way. I can't have done! "I didn't want to wake you."

I shift closer to him and he winds his free arm around my waist. He kisses me gently, just once, and I smile. I lift my hand and press it to his cheek and he leans in to my touch. He's still cold. So cold. He goes against all the laws of nature and of science. Surely it should be impossible to live for hundreds of thousands of years, frozen at the age he was turned. Vampires are creatures of fiction and of myth, yet here he is. Here they all are. They're impossible but they exist. I'm so glad that they do, as well. What if Godric had died two thousand years ago and I'd never met him? I can't imagine meeting anyone else and feeling towards them the way I feel about Godric.

Do I love him? I don't know, maybe. I've never been in love before so I don't know what it feels like. I imagine that it feels a lot like this.

"You're so beautiful."

I realise that he's been watching me as I think and I flush. "Thank you." I murmur, looking down and avoiding his gaze.

* * *

"How do you feel?" I ask her, watching as her skin gradually returns to it's normal pale hue. She looks exhausted despite the fact that she slept the whole way through the day.

"Tired." She says with a small smile. I return it gently and watch as her eyelids become heavy. I stroke her hair and wait until her breathing is slow and rhythmic before I get up and go in search of something to drink.

I'm stood in the kitchen, a glass of Tru Blood set in front of me, but my mind is not focused on satiating my hunger right now, not when my mind is full of such fresh and _delectable _memories from last night. It's such a strange feeling to have over two thousand years of experience in, well, everything and still be surprised by the way an eighteen year old girl kisses me. So gentle and at the same time so passionate. Or to feel the desire in the pit of my stomach rear up higher than it's ever gone before in response to the way she cried out and dug her nails into my back every time I'd go deeper. Or just hearing the way her heart flutters every time I look at her.

It's incredible that I'm still able to feel that way.


	26. Chapter 26

_Sorry it took me so long to update, wasn't sure what to do with this chapter. Sorry that it's not that interesting and probably poorly written. Gonna try and get a few good chapters done on Tuesday!_

* * *

It's around nine pm. Thalia's been here almost twenty four hours and honestly, if it were up to me, I'd never let her leave. I don't mean that I'd physically force her to stay, I just mean that I'd be agreeable to the notion of us staying here, just the two of us, away from the rest of the world for, well, ever. I can't imagine that anyone in their right mind _wouldn't _want to spend every waking moment with her.

I watch as she leans her head back and makes a noise somewhere between a moan and a cry of joy. My hands, which are gripping her thighs, pull her down slightly and her eyes flutter shut as I inch deeper inside of her. She pushes a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her face and exhales sharply and I'm suddenly gripped by an almost irresistible urge to be as close to her as possible. I sit up and wrap my arms around her waist, keeping her in place. The movement means that I shift slightly inside of her and a small moan escapes her lips as she winds her arms around my neck.

* * *

I catch sight of the clock on the wall behind Godric, and although he's demanding my attention by moving his hips _ever _so slightly which, despite the minimal movement, cause small (small compared to what I'd be feeling if he really went for it) twinges of pleasure inside of me, I see that it's past nine. Wow, I'd completely lost track of time. I've been completely wrapped up in Godric and all that, that I've completely forgotten that I actually have things to be doing. Attending classes, for instance.

"What's wrong?" Godric murmurs, sensing my distraction.

"I should go." I reply, thinking of all the things that I've neglected over the past day. Classes and studying. Aimee, who will no doubt be wondering where the hell I've disappeared to. I'm sure Chloe will, too.

"Now?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Well," I grin, "I suppose I could spare a few more minutes." I lean in to kiss him and, in a move so fast that it makes me dizzy, he turns us around so that I'm lay on my back and he's positioned carefully above me.

"If you're sure. I wouldn't want to keep you from anything." He murmurs before sinking back into me.

* * *

"So what did you and Godric do for a whole day?"

It's half past eleven and Aimee and I are sat in the common room. She's watching tv and texting Alex, her fiance. I'm studying, or trying to anyway. I'm tired. I know I slept through the entire day but still. Sex takes up a lot of energy, as it turns out.

"Oh, nothing much. We just…talked." Not exactly true, but whatever.

"Talked? You _just _got home. Are you really telling me you spent twenty four hours _talking?_

"Yeah…" I bite my lip to try and stop myself from grinning. And fail miserably. Aimee jumps on this immediately.

"Ok, you cannot sit there and tell me nothing happened!" She exclaims. "Look at you!" She's forgotten all about her tv show and is now riveted on me. "Tell me!"

"Nothing happened!" I insist, though it's painfully obvious from the look on my face that it did.

"Oh, please!" She says incredulously.

"Well…" I begin slowly. It's not that I don't want to tell her. I do. She's my friend, so why wouldn't I? I'm just trying to figure out a way to tell her without blushing and grinning like an idiot, but I've apparently failed on that score anyway. "I suppose you could say that those rumours aren't exactly untrue anymore."

"Rumours?" She looks confused for a moment and I raise an eyebrow and wait for the penny to drop. It doesn't take long. She claps her hands together excitedly. "I knew it!" She glances around to check that there's no one in the vicinity who could be eavesdropping. "What was it like?" She leans in and whispers. "Did he do anything weird?"

"Weird?" I'm not sure I know what she means. "Like what?"

"You know! Weird! Did he bite you?"

Oh, that kind of weird. "No! It was normal, I imagine. I don't have anything to compare it to but there was nothing weird or out of the ordinary as far as I'm concerned."

She looks disappointed that I don't have any scandalous stories to tell, but only for a moment. From how interested she is, I'm assuming that I'm the only person she knows that's slept with a vampire.

"Was it good?"

I try and keep my expression neutral and my tone casual, but I fail miserably. I blush at the memories of the past day and my tone, though I fought to keep it nonchalant, is anything but.

"Yeah." I say as I break into a grin. "It was kinda great, actually."

"What was kinda great?"

We both turn to find Chloe a few feet away from us. She's striding over to us with that aura of perpetual self importance. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to have heard anything but that part of the conversation. God knows what would happen if Chloe knew that her rumour wasn't such a rumour anymore.

"Oh, you know. Life." I say unconvincingly and she narrows her eyes at me. She's clearly not fooled by my lie, but she doesn't look like she can be bothered to pursue it.

"Whatever. I just came to tell you that I'm going home for a few days to visit my folks."

"How thoughtful." I say dryly. Chloe doesn't usually tell me anything.

"I know. Don't touch any of my stuff, ok?"

Like I would. "Ok."

"Alright then." She smiles down at me condescendingly and I'm half expecting her to pat me on the head. "I'll be off. Bye!" She blows us both a kiss (I'm not kidding, I wish I was) and heads off.

"She's going home at half eleven at night?" Aimee mutters, watching Chloe's retreating back. "No way. There's something off about Chloe. Like, apart from the obvious." She narrows her eyes. "She's definitely up to something."


	27. Chapter 27

Apologies for the long wait for the update! I've been ill over the past week. Better now so updates will hopefully become more frequent!

* * *

Days without Chloe are the best kind of days. Of course, the best kind of days are always the ones that fly by without you noticing and, all too soon, you find them coming to a close. Godric and I did manage to take advantage of Chloe's absence, though. I mean, there's no way he could come over on a normal night, but with her away…

Lets just say that we had a lot of fun. A _lot. _

I think that maybe, I don't know, that perhaps I might love him. Ugh, I feel stupid just thinking that. I suck at expressing my feelings. I don't know if he feels the same way. A while ago I would have done the whole 'why would he even like me, I'm just a human' thing, but apparently my being an insignificant human isn't much of an issue for him.

Even though I'm on my own, I blush when I think about the way Godric looks at me, or how he'll gently push back my hair or how my skin seems to ignite whenever he's in the same room as me. Oh, god. Look at me. When I did I become that kind of girl? I'm just so happy. If it feels right then why _shouldn't _I be that kind of girl? Why shouldn't I fall in love?

Chloe swans through the door at around eight thirty. She looks odd. Agitated, I think. I can't quite work it out as she seems to be trying her best to cover it up. Whatever, I've long stopped trying to work out what Chloe's up to.

"Hey!" She says as soon as she catches sight of me. She slings her bag down on her bed and heaves a sigh. "You didn't touch any of my stuff, did you?"

"Nice to see you too, Chloe." I reply, rolling my eyes.

"Oh," She notices the mug of coffee on my bedside table. "That smells good. Will you make me one?"

Normally I'd refuse, but I can't be bothered to get into an argument with Chloe tonight. I'll only end up making her the coffee out of frustration anyway so I might as well skip the heated argument.

"Here," I shove the mug at her in the hopes that she'll leave me alone now. She's been shuffling around the room. Unpacking, I think. She looks a little guilty though. Like I've caught her doing something she shouldn't.

"Are you ok?" I ask her ask she takes the mug from me. She frowns.

"What do you mean, am I ok? Of course I'm ok! Why wouldn't I be? There's nothing wrong with me."

Wow. Bit of an overreaction. I was only asking! I turn away from her and make my way back to my own bed. I take a sip of my coffee and resolve to keep a closer eye on Chloe. Aimee's right, she's definitely up to something.

* * *

When I wake up, it takes me a few moments to realise that something's wrong. I feel disorientated. Dazed. I stare up at the ceiling above me and it takes me another minute or so to realise that I have no idea where the hell I am. This isn't my room. In fact, this isn't any room that I've ever set foot in. Slowly, I push myself up into a sitting position, shielding my eyes against the bright lights that are boring down over me, and take in my surroundings. I seem to be in some sort of basement. I could be wrong, but that's the word that springs to mind; it's quite a large room with various items stuffed on shelves. There are boxes and…board games. Board games, seriously? Not just any board games, either. A lot of them seem to be Jesus related. I notice that I'm caged in by a large metal frame and I realise that clearly I'm in some sort of danger. I stand up - though my legs are wobbly and I almost collapse in the process - and take a few steps towards the door of the metal frame. From here I can see a figure sat on the opposite side of the room, to the right of the door. I'm having trouble focusing but the person speaks, saving me the trouble of trying to work out who they are.

"You're awake. Finally. You were only supposed to be out a couple of hours."

"Where am I, Chloe?"

"Oh, I can't tell you that. That would take all the fun out of it."

"Why am I here? What do you want with me?"

"You personally? Nothing. You're just bait."

"Bait? Bait for what?"

She raises an eyebrow. "Really? You can't work that out?"

"I can't think straight!" I throw at her as I struggle to filter through the events from last night and try to work out how the hell I got from my bed at campus, to here.

"That'll be the pills, sorry. I was supposed to knock you out, but I figured drugging you would be much easier. And it was. You never saw it coming. You were too busy sending disgusting messages to that fanger of yours." She takes a cell phone out of her pocket and places it on the table beside them. "I read them all, by the way. Do you have no shame? Copulating with a monster?"

"He is not a monster." I reply vehemently.

"He's a vampire." She says, as though this settles the matter. Before I can spit out my angry retort, a dark-haired man enters the room, followed by a petite blonde woman.

"Ah!" He says genially. "Sleeping beauty awakes!" The blonde woman giggles.

"Who the fuck are you?" I snap. My patience is wearing thin.

"Tsk! Language! I'm Reverend Newlin, and this is my wife," he gestures to the blonde woman, "Sarah."

"Why am I here?" I demand, though I'm starting to worry that I already know the answer, and if it's what I think it is, then this is not good. Not good at all.

The Reverend doesn't answer. He takes my cell from the table and starts going through it. I'd feel angry, but him going through my phone is the least of my worries right now. He seems to find what he's looking for. He presses one final button and places the phone back on the table. For a moment I think that's the end of it, but then it starts ringing out. It's on speakerphone, so I'll get to hear all of it. I think the point of it is to unhinge me, perhaps. But when the call is answered, I realise that he's simply answering my question.

"Thalia? Where are you? Are you alright?" Godric's voice echoes throughout the room, frantic with worry.

I must have been unconscious for quite a while. Long enough for him to notice my absence, which means that at least a day must have passed.

The Reverend gives me a look that plainly says 'keep quiet' before he starts talking.

"Godric, isn't it? My name is Steve Newlin. Thalia's here, and she's fine. For now."

There's a long pause. It's painful.

"Please, don't hurt her."

"You have two hours." Steve cuts across him. "I'm willing to exchange her life for yours."

"No!" I gasp.

"Two hours or she dies."


	28. Chapter 28

Steve hangs up before Godric can reply. I notice that he didn't actually tell Godric where we are, for which I'm glad. I don't want him to give his life in exchange for mine. I'll find a way out of this myself.

"Wait, that was a joke, right?" Chloe says, rising from her chair. "About killing her?"

"Not at all. Why?"

"You didn't say you were going to kill her! You said you only needed her to lure him here, you said that she wouldn't get hurt!"

I'm watching Chloe in confusion. Why the sudden concern for my life?

"And she won't as long as her vampire turns up."

Without another word, he takes the hand of the blonde woman and leaves the room, leaving Chloe and I alone once again.

"He's not serious. He can't be. He's just saying that because he wants you to believe it." She's nodding determinedly, like a child trying to wish something into reality.

"Who are you trying to convince here, Chloe? Me or yourself?"

"He's not going to kill you!" She insists. "He wouldn't do that. He's a good man."

I raise an eyebrow. A good man? Apparently mine and Chloe's definition of good differ somewhat.

* * *

We sit there for an hour in silence whilst I rack my brains for some way out. Waiting for Godric to come to my rescue isn't an option. I'd rather get myself out of this mess than get him involved. He doesn't know where I am, so there's little chance of him turning up here.

"How long have you been planning this, then? I'm assuming it wasn't a spur of the moment thing." I ask her. I don't really want to hear the answer, but I need to keep her talking so that I can figure out an escape route without her working out what I'm up to. As long as she's talking, she won't be focused on me.

"A while. Ever since that first night, really, when he walked you home. We needed a vampire and just when we thought we'd never get one, he walked right into the picture. Perfect timing."

"You didn't have a crush on him, then?"

Chloe snorts derisively. "Of course not. He's an abomination, Thalia. A monster. I could barely stand to be in the same room as him."

I'm eyeing the metal cage, looking for a weakness in the mesh or whether the lock on the door is weak enough for me to somehow break.

"So you're going to kill him? And if you can't have him, you'll kill me instead, right? Is that really what God wants you to do?"

"I told you, you're not going to die, Steve was just saying that to scare you! And of course he does. Godric isn't a person, he's a vampire. You might not see it now, but we're doing you a huge favour."

"Oh? How so?"

"Godric will only ruin your life."

I can't even summon up the enthusiasm to laugh at her, or tell her she's wrong, because she genuinely believes that she's right, in all sincerity. It's sad, really.

"Funny that. The only person here who's had any negative impact on my life is you."

"I'm trying to help you! Can't you see that? I'm trying to save you!"

The only response I can muster is to look at her in disgust. How can she talk about helping me and trying to save me when she drugged and kidnapped me with the intention of luring and then killing one of the few people in the world that I care about? Just because he happens to be a vampire. That is _not _ok with me. In fact, it makes me pretty fucking angry.

"Screw you, Chloe." I say angrily.

"You'll thank me one day."

"Oh, I highly doubt that!" I hiss. If I could reach her then I'd slap her around the face. Who does she think she is?

I'm considering kicking down the door to this damned cage when the door flings open Chloe is suddenly pinned against the wall. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust but when they do I can see what's happening perfectly.

"You're not going to make a noise. You're going to sit here and allow us to pass. When Mr. Newlin asks you what happened, you're going to tell him that you don't know. You left the room for a moment and when you returned, Thalia was gone." Godric is murming to her, as if to a lover. Chloe's gaze is now dazed and her expression is slack. She nods once and Godric, clearly satisfied, turns his attention to me. He pulls the door of the cage clean off of its hinges.

"What are you doing here?" I whisper-scream at him. Doesn't he realise the danger he's putting himself in?

"Oh, I was just passing through and I thought I'd check the basement to ensure they didn't have my girlfriend held hostage down here. Jesus, Thalia. What do you think I'm doing here?"

"They want to kill you!"

"I'm aware of that. Do you really think that that would have prevented me from coming?"

"I don't want you getting yourself killed because of me!"

"And I won't, I promise. But just know that I would happily give up my life it if meant saving yours."

I don't have a response for that. A simple 'thank you' doesn't really seem to cover it. Before I can think of an appropriate reply, Godric grabs my hand and leads me past a catatonic Chloe and up the steps that lead into a church, which I'm not entirely surprised to find. It's eerily quiet.

He cocks his head to the left as though he's listening out for something and, after a few seconds, gestures in the opposite direction. He pulls on my hand, pulling me away from whatever it is he heard. He places a finger of his lips, like I needed telling to be quiet; I'm not an idiot.

"They're arguing." He whispers so quietly that I have to strain my ears to listen. "They don't think I'm coming. They think I've left you to fend for yourself." He chuckles softly. "Like I would."

"I wish you had." I mutter, because we both know that he's in much more danger than I am here. "Chloe said that he wouldn't have killed me."

"I wouldn't risk your life based on something that _Chloe _said. Need I remind you that she's the reason we're here?"

We're half way across the room now. I can see a small door on the other side of the pews and assume that's where we're headed. Apparently luck isn't on our side tonight, because before we can reach it, Godric turns and pushes me behind him. He's heard something that I haven't, but it doesn't take long for it to become apparent.

"Going somewhere?" A gun shot rings through the room and a bullet speeds past the both of us, narrowly missing. It embeds itself in the wall behind me. I don't have to search far for the culprit; Steve Newlin is striding towards us both, gun in hand. "Take another step and I'll shoot you both through the heart." He says happily, though his smile is strained, like he's struggling to keep his composure.

"Wooden bullets, I assume." Godric says dryly.

"Only the best!" He takes aim again and I'm paralysed with fear. Not for my own life, but for Godric's. If he dies…I can't even imagine what life would be like without him. I don't want to. But Steve's aim right now isn't to kill, but to maim. He shoots and his bullet finds it's target in Godric's stomach. I cry out in shock as he doubles over, clutching his wound. I go to kneel beside him and, I don't know, help somehow but Steve points the gun at me.

"Ah! Don't think I won't shoot you too." He gestures to someone behind him that I can't see and three men comes hurrying into the room, all of them armed with silver chains and stakes.

"Take him to the place we discussed. And lock her back up. Get Gabe to watch over her." Two of then men make their way over to Godric and wrap the chains around his neck and wrists. The burning of his skin makes me wince. I want to pull them off but any interference on my part will only make things worse for him, so I watch helplessly as they drag him away. The other man comes shuffling towards me. He produces a length of rope from his pocket and binds my hands together with it. The rope is rough and chafes against my skin when I move but I don't resist. My mind is working overtime trying to come up with a plan to get us out of here because I know that Godric certainly won't be, not in his state, which is unfortunate because I'm sure that he could come up with a much better plan than me. I mean, he has a _lot _more experience than me. But no, it's up to me to get us out of here. Only, I have no idea how the hell I'm going to do it.


	29. Chapter 29

Just to clarify, this situation at the church is not the same one as in the tv show when Sookie goes in to find Godric. This takes place months before that happens.

* * *

I'm taken back to my cage and left under the guard of a large hulking man called Gabe. I suppose now that the cage has no door after Godric ripped it off, they needed someone I have no chance of overpowering to watch over me. My hands are still bound together and I wonder absent-mindedly if I could somehow untie the rope, sneak up on Gabe and throttle him with it. Not enough to kill him, just to incapacitate him for a while whilst I make my escape. The rope is way too tight, though. I can barely move either of my hands.

I wonder where they've taken Godric. Will they have killed him already? The thought turns my insides to ice. No, after all the trouble that they've gone to, to get him here, they'll want his death to be something of a ceremony, a spectacle. Which is fortunate really because it gives us time to escape, though right now all it's doing is giving us more time to sit around, unable to move.

Gabe is an asshole, to no ones surprise. He spends the next two hours taunting me. The word 'fangbanger' comes up a lot. He asks me vulgar questions about what Godric and I actually do, the tamest of them being, "does it turn you on, when he bites you?"

I stay silent for the most part, refusing to answer his disgusting questions. If I didn't know better, there's no way I'd think that this man was a Christian. I suspect that his hatred of vampires was the main motivation for him to join the Fellowship of the Sun rather than his devout Christian values.

Luck finally seems to have come over to my side, because when I refuse to so much as look at him, Gabe's questions slowly dwindle to a halt and are replaced by slow and rhythmic breathing. I can hardly believe it, he's fallen asleep! Slowly, so as to not make even the slightest noise, I rise from my spot on the floor. If I can just make it out of this room without waking him then I can find Godric and get us out of here. I tiptoe out of the cage and past Gabe. He stirs a little when I walk past and I freeze, but mercifully he doesn't wake. I continue over to the door, not daring to stop for even a second to look back and check that he's still asleep. I manage to turn to door knob without making too much noise and then I'm free. Sort of. Free of that room, at least.

I hurry up the stairs, into the church. It's empty, thank god. I run across it, trying my best to keep my footsteps light. I only know that the direction they dragged Godric in is the opposite direction to the one they took me. Other than that, I have no idea where he could be.

I can hear voices somewhere to my right. Fuck. I crouch down between pews and hope that the darkness is cover enough. I daren't look up but from what I can tell, it's Steve and Chloe. They're talking about me. Discussing whether they should keep me around whilst they kill Godric or whether they should let me go. Steve wants to keep me here and bring me out to watch as they kill Godric in the hopes that when I see him meet the sun, I'll realise my true calling, leave my sins behind me and join them. Yeah, that's not happening. Over my dead body. Chloe, on the other hand, is all for letting me go. It's odd hearing Chloe fight my corner. I mean, what are her motives? She's the one who brought me here.

It takes me all of two seconds to realise where they're headed. _Shit. _They're going down into the basement. I have approximately sixty seconds before they realise I'm missing. I wait until they're out of sight before standing and running as fast as I can through the door that I'm almost certainly sure that they took Godric. It takes me into a dimly lit narrow corridor. I hesitate, unsure whether I should proceed when I hear muffled shouting. Apparently my sixty seconds is up. I sprint down the corridor, stopping only when I pass a door. It's the same beige colour as the walls so I almost miss it. I skid to a halt and push it open. Inside is an empty non-descript room, but there's a door on the other side. Something tells me that this is a room seldom used because there's a thick layer of dust on the floor, interrupted by two pairs of footprints and drag marks, which tells me I'm on the right track. Encouraged, I make my over to the other door and grasp the handle. I'm about to push it open when someone on the other side of the door pulls and it swings open, taking me with it. With my hands tied, I can't stop myself from tripping over my own two feet and I would have fallen if it weren't for the pair of strong hands that grasp my shoulders and pull me upright.

"Going somewhere?"

Relief surges through me. "Godric!" He's covered in blood and can barely keep himself upright, but he's conscious at least. "How did you escape?" I survey the blood that has stained the majority of his shirt. "Did you…?"

"Kill them? No. This is my blood."

I bite my lip. The angry welts on his neck and his wrists have barely healed. He's weak, and very much so. I need him strong if we're both going to get out of here alive. I don't really think about it, there's nothing to think about, it's the only thing to do.

"Here," I push the rope on one of my wrists back. It's chafed enough to break the skin, not that he wouldn't be able to do it himself with those fangs of his, but it just makes it that little bit easier.

"No." He shakes his head. "I won't."

"Take it!"

"No!"

"We don't have time for this! If you don't drink then we're both going to end up dead."

This seems to bring him round, because after a moment of reluctance, he takes my wrist, snaps the rope, freeing my hands, before sinking his fangs into my skin. It hurts at first, which is to be expected really. I can't explain the sensation, because it's like nothing I've ever felt before. It's odd, but not unpleasant. He doesn't take much. Whether because he's being cautious because it's me or because he doesn't need much, I don't know. It seems to do the trick, anyway, because his neck and his wrists heal almost instantly.

"Do not let go of my hand." He says as he takes mine and we start to make our way back the way we came. We're almost at the end of the narrow corridor when the door that leads back into the church swings open. I take a step back but Godric pulls me forward. "It's ok." He murmurs as a tall, blonde haired man steps through.

"Godric." He murmurs in terms of reverence. His icy blue eyes survey me for a second before he turns his attention back to Godric, his head bowed.

"Eric." Godric replies. "What can you tell me?"

"They have the place surrounded with idiots wielding stakes and silver chains. We could very easily get through them." He raises an eyebrow.

"No. We will spill no blood. Who have you brought with you?"

"Isabel and a few others. Should be enough."

"Come." Godric pulls me through the door and Eric brings up the rear. There's a group of people stood in the middle of the room. I assume that these are the others that Eric spoke of because none of them react much to our appearance.

"We need a plan." Eric says the moment we reach them.

"That, you do." Comes a voice from behind us. I groan. We all turn to find Steve and a small group of his cronies stood blocking all of the exits. I turn to look behind me to find that the exits behind us are blocked, too. They have us trapped. This doesn't look to be much of a problem for the vampires though, if what happens next is anything to go by.

Despite Godric's earlier warning that he wanted no blood spilt, the vampires go to work immediately. In less than a second, the room is filled with fighting. There's cries of pain, screams of terror, grunts of frustration and furious yelling from humans and vampires alike. I'm stood, rooted to the spot, not sure whether I should get involved or just try and stay away from the bloodshed. I'm only human, after all. To try and get involved will only mean more work for the person who has to come to my rescue when I bite off more than I can chew.

Godric's disappeared. One moment he was stood next to me, clutching my hand, the next he was gone. I assume that he's fighting. Everything seems to be blurring together as the vampires move, too fast for me to see properly and way too fast for the humans to get a good hit on them. It can't last anymore than a few minutes, but it seems a lot longer from where I'm standing.

"STOP!" someone roars from very close behind me. Too close. I'm about to turn around when the tip of something sharp presses against my back and a hand comes around and wraps itself around my neck. "Stop or she dies!"

* * *

The room seems to come to a standstill the moment I catch sight of the reverend with his hand around Thalia's neck and a stake pressed to her back. It doesn't, of course. The vampires take no notice of him, it's only me who can see what he's doing. I stop what I'm doing and walk forward slowly, so as to not startle him into making any rash movements.

She doesn't looked particularly scared, only bewildered. I open my mouth to order the other vampires to stop, but I can't seem to find my voice. He catches sight of me, frozen to the spot mere feet away, and grins. I realise in that moment that he never intended to let her live. His plan was to kill us both. To make us an example. Me, for being a vampire and her, because she fell for one. I know this because the moment he catches my eye and grins is the same moment that Thalia cries out in pain as the stake that Steven Newlin is holding protrudes from her chest.


	30. Chapter 30

Firstly, I'd like to apologise in advance for this chapter. I have a feeling a lot of people won't be all too happy with it. This was always going to happen though, I had this planned from the start, but it is by no means the end, there's still more of Godric and Thalia's story to tell, this is not the end.

Secondly, a few people have asked why Godric didn't just grab Thalia and vamp-speed the hell out of there. Answer: because where would be the fun in that? It would make for a very boring story if Godric just sped them out of places the whole time, wouldn't it?

Thirdly, apologies for any mistakes in this chapter. It's half past 12 in the morning and normally I'd read through and check that everything's ok but I have work in the morning and I want to get to bed. I'll look over it tomorrow and check for any mistakes but for the moment, if there are any mistakes just ignore them. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

"NO!" I hurry forward as Steve pulls the stake out. She gapes down at the hole in her chest for a moment, her expression numb with shock, before her knees give way. My only thought is to get to her and heal her before she dies, but Steve has other ideas. He's got the stake, covered in Thalia's blood, pressed against my chest before I can get to her.

"Please!" I gasp. I don't care if he kills me. He can tie me to a bonfire and watch me burn for all I care, but not before I've given her my blood. "Please let me heal her. You can have me. Kill me, please. Stake me, set fire to me, have me meet the sun, anything, just let me save her first."

I don't wait for an answer, I take his lack of resistance when I push past him as a 'yes'. She's still conscious, thank god, but only just. I kneel down beside her and don't waste any time in ripping open the skin on my wrist and offering it to her, just like she had done for me not long ago. She stares at the blood now oozing from my wound in confusion. "What are you doing?" She says, and I'm alarmed at how faint her voice is. This is not the time for easing her into this, we have precious little moments before she dies if she doesn't drink. As gently as I can manage, I grasp the back of her head and all but force my wrist to her face. Whether she doesn't have the energy to resist or because she knows that she needs it, she takes it in. I watch in utter relief as the colour starts flooding back into her and the gaping hole in her chest closes, leaving behind nothing but a bloodstained tear in her shirt. My relief is somewhat short-lived though, as I realise that now I must permit the Fellowship to kill me in any way that they desire and that Thalia will most likely be forced to watch. I rise to see that Eric and the others have stopped fighting and have been watching me. Eric looks confused, and for good reason. He's never seen me like this with a human. He's seen me feed off them and use them as objects for my own pleasure. He's seen me use and abuse them and then discard of them when I've become bored, but he's never seen me like this. Real and genuine.

"Godric-" He begins but I hold up my hand to silence him.

"Go. Leave. The sun will be up soon. There's no use in you dying too."

"But-"

"Leave. Now."

I turn to Steve. He's holding a silver chain, but he makes no move to bind me with them. He doesn't have to. He knows that he's got me hook, line and sinker.

"Do I have your word that Thalia will leave this place unharmed if I allow you to take my life?"

"Of course."

"And you will allow my progeny and those accompanying him to leave now before the sun rises?"

Steve glances behind me at Eric and the others. I can see the reluctance in his expression. He doesn't want to let them go, of course he doesn't, but he can see that this is the best deal he's going to get.

"Fine." He says grudgingly.

"I'm not leaving you here." Eric says, taking a step in my direction.

"Yes you are."

"Bu-"

"As your Maker, I command you."

* * *

I feel distant. Disconnected from reality as I watch the exchange between Godric and Eric. I'm not sure what they're arguing about. I'm still a little out of it, I think. I was staked, after all.

After a moment or so, Eric leaves and the others follow him, leaving Godric and I alone with Steve and a small group of his followers. The fog is lifting now, I'm slowly coming back to reality and as I do, a few words register in my mind. They're taking of someone meeting the sun. A vampire. Godric.

I watch in horror as he willingly makes his way to the altar. There, he slowly lies down on what looks to be a table and Steve drapes his silver chains across him, weakening him. What is he doing? Why isn't he fighting? Through the windows I can see that the sky is getting lighter. Once the sun comes up, there'll be nothing that I can do.

"Wait," I try to say, but nothing comes out. My voice seems to have given up on me. I take a step forwards, though I'm not really sure why. I'm not at all sure what to do, but I can't just let Godric die!

I'm about to open my mouth in an attempt to draw Steve's attention to me when he something unprecedented happens. He's stood with his back to Godric, talking to his men about evil and sins and Judas and silver when someone - Godric, I assume - hits him over the head with a wooden plank and he collapses to the floor, unconscious.

There's a dead beat of silence within which it's revealed that his attacker isn't Godric at all. No, he's still tethered to the table.

It's Chloe.

She's standing over his body, the heavy wooden plank in one hand, a hand pistol in the other. She points it at the men and glances at me. Honestly, I don't think I've ever been more confused in my life, but I don't wait a second longer. I hurry up the steps to where Godric is still lay and I pull the silver off of his burning skin. He cries out in both pain and relief and slowly sits up. He takes a good look at the situation; Steve on the floor, unconscious and Chloe holding his men at bay with a gun. He looks at me quizzically and I shrug. Without hesitation, he grabs my hand and uses his impressive speed to get us the hell out of there.

* * *

I don't know how far away we are when he stops. It doesn't seem that far to me because it only took us a minute at the most to get there, but it must be far enough away for him to feel safe enough to stop.

"Are you ok?" He asks me in a voice that's empty of any emotion. It's so cold that I can almost feel it.

"I'm fine, thank you."

We turn a corner and I can see my building. Wow, we must have come quite a way. It must have been more than a minute we were travelling, then. Maybe my perception of time is a little off.

The sky is still quite dark. I'd say there's at least another hour until Godric needs to start worrying about getting somewhere light-tight.

"We need to talk." He says suddenly in a voice that doesn't do anything to reassure me that whatever he's about to say is a good thing.

"Ok." I say hesitantly.

He fidgets for a moment, looking down at his hands instead of me. "I don't think that we should see each other anymore." He mutters.

"What?"

He looks up at me. "I said I don't think we should see each other anymore." He says louder and more clearly. There's no way I heard him wrong, then.

He shakes his head. "I came close to dying tonight. Closer than I'm comfortable with. So did you. I think it's best that we quit whilst we're ahead."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Self-preservation, I suppose."

"_Self-preservation?" _I repeat incredulously. "Are you fucking kidding me? We both knew that this wasn't going to be easy! We both knew that we'd have to try, but this isn't trying, Godric! This is giving up at the first sign of trouble!"

He pushes a hand through his hair in exasperation and seems to struggle with himself for a moment before bursting out with, "I don't love you, Thalia. I never loved you."

I feel like he just punched me in the stomach, kicked me in the chest and tore out my insides all at once. "Then why…?"

"I like to play games. I'm a vampire, it's what we do. Taking a young, innocent girl and bringing her over to the dark side, corrupting her in every sense of the word, is my idea of fun, and you made it too easy. I wasn't really done with you but after tonight, I think it's time to admit defeat. I mean, I like danger as much as the next person but when my life is dangerously at risk, I raise the white flag."

"Why not let them kill me, then? You could have saved yourself easily. You didn't even have to come in the first place." My voice is small and I can feel tears pooling in my eyes. He's lying, he has to be. He's not like that.

"Because you are mine and I'll be damned if I let anyone, especially the Fellowship, take what is rightfully mine."

"I don't believe you."

"I don't care."

"No one is that good of an actor! Not even you!"

He laughs unkindly. "I'm over two thousand years old, Thalia." He says slowly, as though talking to an exceptionally thick toddler. "Do you honestly believe that I don't possess the ability to fool you? An eighteen year old child?"

I don't know how to respond to that.

"It was just a game." He says softly. "_You _were just a game."

Just a game. Wow, I never thought those words would have the capability of tearing through me like knives.

I stare at him for a moment, unable to wrap my head around what he's saying, because that can't be it. It just…it can't!

Then again, he is over two thousand years old. I suppose it makes sense. Why would he ever be interested in me? Unless it really was just a game.

A single flame rises in me, enough for just a moment of anger. "Fuck you, Godric." I push past him and make my way towards my building. My momentary flame has burned out and it's taking all I have not to burst out crying right here.

It was just a game. All of it. Just a game.

* * *

I feel numb. Empty. Cold. I want to scream and cry and collapse to the ground in a sobbing heap. But I can't seem to bring myself to do anything other than stare at the wall opposite me. I glance at the clock on my bedside table. It's just past one in the morning. It's almost twenty four hours since I found out the cold hard truth.

I made my way through the day in a sort of daze. I didn't speak to anyone and they didn't speak to me. I went to my classes and then came straight back home, unable to summon up the energy to do much else.

I'm contemplating getting up and changing for bed when the door opens and in comes Chloe. I don't know how she has the nerve to come in here when she knows that I'm here. I know that if the roles were reversed, I certainly wouldn't. I was angry at her before. Furious. I can't seem to summon up any feelings towards her now, negative or otherwise.

She has the decency to look a little guilty. She sits down on her bed and looks down at the floor for a few moments. I watch her silently.

"I'm sorry." She says finally. She looks up at me and I realise that this might be the first thing that she's ever said to me that holds any truth at all. "I really am. I didn't think that they'd go that far. They said they just needed you to lure him there."

I think she's telling the truth. She genuinely believed that Steve wouldn't kill me. Wouldn't even try. He was just trying to scare me, she said. I wonder if he was 'just trying to scare me' when he drove a stake into my back. I don't care though. I don't care about anything anymore. When I don't say anything, Chloe continues.

"Is Godric ok?" She asks me.

There's a painful twinge in my chest at the mention of his name. I don't want to talk about him, not to anyone. Especially Chloe.

"I don't know." I reply. My voice is horribly devoid of emotion. It's cold and hard, a lot like the emptiness inside of me.

"Wha-"

"-He broke up with me. If you want to know how Go-" I pause. The ice inside me is thawing now. Fast. I can't bring myself to say his name. It hurts. "-how he is, you'll have to ask him yourself."

Chloe looks like she wants to ask more questions, and I don't doubt that she genuinely wants to know the answers - I think that she was handed a pretty big reality check today - but I can't talk about it. I can barely think about it. I can feel the tears starting to pool in my eyes and I know that I need to cry, but I can't do it here. Without a word, I take my leave and hurry out of the room, down the stairs of our building and out into the night. It's relatively warm but I barely feel it. I need to find somewhere secluded. Somewhere I won't be interrupted.

One night. I'll allow myself one night to cry and to scream and to do whatever else I need to. Get it out of my system. I'm not going to mope around and hope he'll come crawling back. He made himself perfectly clear when he said he didn't think that we should see each other anymore. Didn't love me. That it was all just a game.

Chloe was right all along. He is a monster.


	31. Chapter 31

Seems like I'm doing this at the beginning of every chapter now, but again apologies for the long wait between updates. Work has just gotten in the way and I wasn't sure what to do with this chapter. It's a relatively boring one in my opinion, but whatever. There are much more exciting ones to come. Anyway, in the future, when I don't update for a while, it's either because I've been working overtime and haven't had time, or I've been ill, or I've cut both my thumbs at work in one day and lost the use of both of them and been unable to do even the simplest of tasks (this actually happened last week and it was horrible) so yeah. Sorry that this one is kind of short, too.

* * *

"Hey! Thalia, wait up!"

I stop and turn to find Aimee hurrying towards me. I hitch a smile up onto my face as she approaches.

"Hey."

"Are you ok? Chloe came to talk to me an-"

"What did she tell you?" I demand. If Chloe told her _anything _then I will kill her. She's damn lucky that I haven't already.

"Nothing." She says, a little taken aback. "She just said that you were having a bit of a rough time and to look out for you. I mean, I was a little surprised, since when did Chloe give a damn about you? But whatever, did something happen with Godric?"

I sigh. I've been avoiding her for exactly this reason, because I don't want to go into what happened with Godric, but I'll have to tell her sometime, I suppose. Better to tell her now and get it over and done with.

"We, uh, we broke up." No need to mention the whole almost being murdered by a crazy reverend thing, right?

"You did?" Aimee looks aghast. "Why?"

_Well, from his point of view we were never really together in the first place. _"He's a vampire. I'm human. It had to end at some point."

"I thought you really liked him, though?"

I did. I really, really did. "Eh, he was alright." I say with a shrug.

Aimee doesn't look convinced but, to my relief, she doesn't pursue it. I'm grateful because I'd rather no one found out the real reason we aren't together anymore. I mean, it's kind of humiliating finding out that the guy you fell for doesn't actually like you and has been playing you all along. I can either sit around crying about it or I can move on, and I don't intend to sit around crying about it.

* * *

"Who is she?"

I look up to find Eric watching me closely.

"Who's who?"

"You know who. The girl."

"Oh." I look down at my hands, clasped together in my lap, to avoid his penetrating gaze. "No one of import."

"Really?" I can hear the scepticism in his voice and I don't have to look at him to know he's raising an eyebrow. "You almost died for her."

"Mhm. A rather large error on my part."

"So who is she?"

I sigh. I'd much rather not get into this right now. Or at all, to be perfectly honest. "Her name is Thalia. She's eighteen years old and she's studying English and History at the university."

Eric looks a little dumbfounded. "That's all?"

"That's all." I confirm.

"Surprising. I always assumed that you'd end up with someone of your own standard. Important and powerful."

"We're not together." I correct him. He's right, I suppose. If I end up with anyone it should be someone like me, someone with cold skin and a heart that doesn't beat. Someone who needs blood to survive. A monster, like me.

"Is she yours?"

"No. I don't think that I'll be seeing her again." And if I do, I'm sure that it will be an unpleasant experience. I was cruel. Too cruel, I think. I'm trying my best to remain seemingly uninterested in the subject of our conversation, but the problem with Eric is that he and he alone knows me better than anyone in this world. He seems to sense that I'm not in any mood to talk about it and changes the subject. He talks about Fangtasia, about his own progeny and a girl he claims can read minds. Her blood smells fantastic, apparently.

We both know that I'm not paying as much attention as I should be. He certainly knows this, but he doesn't stop. He keeps on and on about small and insignificant things, like the colour of Pam's new shoes, stuff that I couldn't possibly care about, and I'm grateful for it. Ever so grateful. Ordinarily I would relish sitting in silence, staring into space with nothing and no one but my thoughts for company, but my thoughts are not friendly tonight. Nor have they been since, well, _then_. Every time I get a moment to myself, I'm forced to listen to my own cruel words. The way she looked at me is an image that will soon be permanently burned into my mind's eye, I'm sure.

* * *

"What was it like?"

The guy that Aimee said was called Mark is watching me closely. I've somehow ended up on a double date. Aimee's fiancé, Alex came up with the idea to introduce Mark and I. Aimee agreed, because what harm could it do, really? I'm single, he's single. Might as well, right? Except Mark really isn't my type. But what is my type? Two thousand year old vampires who worm their way into my heart before ripping it from my chest and tearing it in two?

Much to my dismay, the subject of conversation somehow landed on vampires. Just my luck, really. Mark said that he couldn't imagine ever falling for someone who was technically dead and who depended on blood to survive. I said nothing, because I can't imagine how I fell for someone like that either.

"Thalia dated a vampire." Aimee blurted out as soon as Mark had finished his speech about the greatness of humanity. I widened my eyes at her, why the hell would she bring that up? She shook her head and mouthed 'sorry' but Mark had already pounced on her words.

"You did?"

"Um, yeah."

"What was it like?"

For someone who claims to be unable to imagine falling for a vampire, he's mighty interested about it.

"Tiring." I say with a shrug.

"Because of all the sex?" He says eagerly.

I stare at him. Is he serious? I glance over at Aimee and Alex. Aimee gives me an apologetic smile and Alex, with one look at his friend, stifles a laugh.

"No," I say slowly, "because I could only see him at night."

"Oh," he looks disappointed. "I guess that makes sense."

* * *

"I can't believe you tried to set me up with that guy. We have nothing in common." He spent most of the night telling me about his high scores of various video games and how he got them. Thrilling stuff.

"I know, I'm sorry!" Aimee apologises emphatically. "It was completely Alex's idea. Mark is, how do I say this nicely? He's an idiot. Alex thought that introducing him to you might, I don't know, make him less of an idiot I suppose."

"And you agreed?" I roll my eyes.

"I thought it might take your mind off of Godric!"

"I don't need my mind taking off of him! My mind wasn't on him in the first place!" It's true. Kind of.

"Are you sure? Bec-"

"I'm fine! I'm over it, really. It's not like we were together all that long. I barely knew him!"

Aimee is silent for a moment. The look she gives me is almost pitying.

"Thalia-" She begins, but I cut her off.

"I said I'm fine, Aimee."


	32. Chapter 32

The weekend comes around slowly and I decide to go home for a few days. I need some normality. I plaster a smile to my face and try and act as though I'm genuinely interested in my step-mom's new hair colour - it's more of a caramel colour now, as opposed to the bright blonde it once was - or that the fact that my brothers can now sleep without a nightlight is a notion that delights me. Honestly? I couldn't care less. It's selfish, I know. It's hard for me to admit it, even to myself, but I just don't care. It's not just them, I don't really care about anything. I feel empty inside. Hollow. It takes up an abnormal amount of energy for me to even function normally. And I hate it. It's the only thing I have any real feeling about at the moment. I'm trying to act normal because I hate the fact that _he _has made me feel this way. It's weak and pathetic and selfish and I hate myself for it. I don't hate him, surprisingly. I try not to think about him, but sometimes his name pops into my head, uninvited, followed by some memory attached to him. Sometimes it's stupid stuff, tiny things, like the way I'd sometimes look up and find him watching me. I'd catch his eye and he'd duck his head, embarrassed. I'm sure that if he had the ability to blush, he would have. Other times, it's bigger things. Like the way he kissed me. At the time, I'd been convinced of his feelings for me. I realise now that he's had over two thousand years of experience. I suppose it's a little too easy for him to fool girls like me. I wonder how many other girls like me there have been. A lot, probably. I shake my head in an attempt to rid myself of these thoughts. I told myself I wouldn't dwell over it. Wouldn't think of it if I could help it.

"Are you ok?"

I look up from my spot next to the window to find Ethan leaning against my door frame.

"I'm fine." I say automatically. I realise for the first time how dead my voice sounds. It's emotionless. Cold, even. I wonder how long it's been like that.

Ethan raises an eyebrow. He doesn't believe me and, unlike Aimee, decides to pursue it. "Bullshit. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" I insist. "I said I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me, Thalia. I'm your brother, I know you better than anyone." It's true. "Is it the vampire?"

I don't answer. I look away from him and back out of the window.

"So it is? What did he do to you?" He sounds angry. He closes the door behind him so that there's no chance of being overheard and strides over to me. "Did he hurt you?"

"Not physically."

"Emotionally?"

"It's my own fault. I should have seen it coming."

"What did he do?" Ethan demands.

I can't bring myself to tell him the truth. I can hardly bring myself to think the words, never mind say them out loud. "He broke up with me." I say, which is true enough. "That's all. He broke up with me. You know what I'm like, I take everything over the top." Which is true. Kind of. I'm definitely taking this over the top. There's no reason for me to be feeling this way, but that doesn't stop me. If anything, the more I try to feel happy about something - anything - the hollow feeling intensifies. I'll get over it eventually, I'm sure, but eventually isn't soon enough. I want to be over it now.

* * *

Thalia's gone for the weekend. I'm glad. She hasn't been the same since, well, then. It's all my fault. I got in way over my head. I thought that what Steve was doing was right. That one less vampire in the world couldn't be a bad thing. I was so, _so _wrong. I should never have agreed to Steve's plan. It was stupid and dangerous and was always going to end badly.

There's a knock on the door. Well, I say knock. It's more of a hammering. I pull open the door to find Aimee stood there. She looks angry. She pushes past me and into the room. She waits for me to shut the door before speaking.

"I want to know what the hell is going on and I want to know now."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about. You and Thalia went missing for two days. Godric was beside himself with worry. The last time I saw him he was going off to rescue to both of you-"

"Both of us?"

"Yes, both of you. Because the despite the fact that you've done absolutely nothing to give him any reason to be nice to you, he had no intention of letting you get hurt. I haven't seen him since. Thalia won't talk about him. In fact, she doesn't talk about much. It's like she doesn't even care. I know that they broke up but there has to be more to it than that. And you! Where do I even begin? One minute you're the roommate from hell, the next you're all sweetness and light and, apparently, actually care about Thalia."

"I-I can't. I can't tell you. If she hasn't told you, then she probably doesn't want you to know."

"So, what, I should just sit and do nothing? Something happened and she's not dealing with it. I've seen it before and it didn't end well. Thalia's my friend and I don't want the same thing to happen to her. Tell me, Chloe. Please."

I know that Thalia doesn't want anyone to know what happened. I wouldn't either, if I was her. But what if I don't tell Aimee what happened and Thalia kills herself or something? I mean, what happened had to have been traumatic for her. I feel a surge of guilt. She wouldn't have even been there if it weren't for me.

"Fine," I say, fuelled by my guilt. "I kidnapped Thalia." Aimee opens her mouth angrily but I hold my hand up to stop her. "We needed a vampire to sacrifice to the sun. He was the first vampire we'd come across in months. We knew we'd never be able to catch him ourselves, he's too strong, so we took her instead. Steve told me that we were taking her purely for the purpose of luring Godric to the church, and I believed him. He started to get weird, though. He threatened to kill her if Godric didn't show up. I didn't believe him, I thought he was just saying it to scare them, until I saw him drive a stake through her chest."

"_What?_"

"She almost died. She certainly would have if Godric hadn't convinced Steve to let him heal her. He gave his life for hers."

"Is he _dead?"_

"No. They got away. But he broke up with her."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know, I swear."

Aimee looks like she wants to hit me. I wouldn't blame her if she did. When she speaks, however, she's oddly calm. "This is all your fault, Chloe. I hope you know that."


	33. Chapter 33

It's an unseasonably cold night. I'm leaning against an uncomfortable brick wall, watching as my breath mists in front of me. Alex told me not to come. He said I should stay out of it and let them sort things out for themselves. And ordinarily I would. But how can Thalia sort things out when she can't even talk about him? Can't even hear his name without wincing as though someone has just slapped her across the face. I'm not trying to interfere, I just…I don't know. I just have to talk to him.

I glance up at the sky which is gradually turning from blue to a jet black. Honestly, I wish I could have done this during the day, but given the circumstances…

"Aimee?" I turn to find Godric stood to my left. He looks surprised to see me. I'd be surprised to see me, too. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?" He looks wary.

"I know what happened with the Fellowship of the Sun. Chloe told me."

There's a long pause. For a moment I think he's going to turn and walk away without answering. "And what has Thalia told you?"

"Nothing! That's the point! She won't talk about it. Won't talk about you. She won't even say your name. She 's not dealing with it, and whilst that might make her feel better about it now, it's going to be so much worse for her in the long run. "

"And that's my problem, why?"

"What do you mean? Of course it's your problem! She's like this because of you!" He raises an eyebrow. "And because of what happened at the Fellowship." I add as an afterthought.

"Has Thalia told you why we're not together anymore?"

"No. I just said, she won't talk about it."

"Then I should clarify that she and I weren't really in a relationship."

I frown. Am I missing something here? "Wha-"

"I'm over two thousand years old, Aimee. What makes you think I'd ever be interested in someone like her?"

"_Someone like her?_" I repeat incredulously.

"Human. Ordinary. You get the idea."

"I don't understand…"

He throws his hands up in exasperation. "I was bored! I was bored and she was there and I had my fun. If there's one thing worth knowing about vampires, it's that we love to play games. Love to toy with emotions. If you'd lived as long as I have, you would too."

"So Thalia was, what, your _toy?_"

I'm readying myself to call him every foul name I know, because what kind of person does that? Thalia never once did him any wrong. She endured weeks of people talking about her behind her back and not once did she blame him for any of it, and for what? For _this?_ No. That's not fair. My mouth is already forming around the words when something wavers in his expression. It's only a momentary blip, but I catch it. And I realise.

"I know what you're doing."

"What?"

"You have to stop. Why would you do that to her? Why would you do that to _yourself?_"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." He says coldly.

"Yes, you do! You know exactly what I'm talking about! You have to stop it, it's not fair on either of you!"

Apparently I've gone too far. Godric stares at me. His gaze is so cold that I can almost feel the temperature drop a little. "You need to leave. You should not have come in the first place."

"Fine." I say, because I'm not about to push my luck with a vampire. "Just keep it in mind, that if she does something stupid, that's on you."

* * *

"Did you love him?" Ethan asks me.

"No." I answer quickly. Too quickly.

"You're an awful liar, Thalia. You always have been."

"That's because I've never had much of a reason to lie."

Ethan almost chokes on the sip of water he's about to swallow as a burst of laughter forces its way forwards.

"Sorry, I forgot what a saint you are. Tell me, what does dad think of your relationship with a vampire?"

"Ok, apart from that!" My face breaks into a smile for what feels like the first time in days. I feel better somehow. Sat here, with my brother, just talking. It feels normal. It feels familiar. The ice inside of me is starting to thaw. It's thawing slowly. Oh so slowly, but it's thawing nonetheless. I feel a rush of relief; I was starting to think that I was going to feel empty forever, but even now, as I think about it, I can feel myself slowly coming back. It's like a huge weight has been lifted from my chest. I don't have things so bad. So Godric broke up with me? I'm only eighteen, there'll be plenty of time for relationships and such. The important thing is that I have a good life and people who love me. When I look at it from that point of view, the whole Godric thing really doesn't seem that bad.

* * *

"Thalia! There you are! I've been looking for you!"

I look up from my book to find Aimee pulling up a chair next to me. She looks worried.

"Oh, hey." I smile at her.

"Can I talk to you?" She lowers her voice and glances around the library to check that nobody is listening in.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Look, Chloe told me what happened."

I stiffen. My hand goes to my chest, right to the spot that there was once a gaping hole after Steve Newlin drove a stake through my back. I'm reminded of the blinding pain and it takes me a few moments before I can speak. "Why did she tell you?"

"I kind of forced it out of her. I'm worried about you, Thalia. This whole thing with Godric coupled with the Fellowship of the Sun situation is enough to have anyone messed up over it an-"

"I'm fine, Aimee. Well, no, I'm not. I feel kind of empty inside. Like Godric has torn my insides out and ground them up under his feet. But it's getting better, and I will be fine. I mean, sure I'm still upset. It sucks that someone would do that, especially someone like Godric who I thought was a decent guy, but my life isn't that bad. So I got dumped, who hasn't?"

Aimee stares at me, her expression blank. She's scrutinising me, as though she expects me to burst out crying at any moment. "So you're ok?" She says slowly.

"No, I'm not. But I will be. It's just going to take a little time." It's not a lie, either. I'm not saying it to keep her off of my back or to stop the flow of questions that I don't want to answer. I'm will be ok, I'm sure of it.


	34. Chapter 34

How I've ended up in this dimly lit room with a horde of people I don't know is beyond me, but I'm here. Everyone is dressed in finery and yet they don't seem to have noticed that I'm here in my jeans and a hoodie. In fact, when I pass a young couple a few years older than myself, the man stares at me in awe whilst the woman stares in longing. Confused, I glance down to find that I'm no longer in my jeans. I'm wearing a long, white dress. It looks a little like a wedding dress but, as far as I know, I'm not getting married. That seems like the kind of thing that I'd remember.

I'm puzzling over the details, trying to remember why I'm here and how I got here when there's a tap on my shoulder.

"Ethan!" I exclaim when I turn to find my brother stood behind me. He looks troubled.

"Have you seen mom?"

"Mom's here?"

"I think so."

"Ethan," I say hesitantly. "Mom's dead."

He's not looking at me. I follow his gaze to find that the object of his fixation is a woman on the other side of the room. She's walking hurriedly towards a door which, I suppose, is the exit. She has dark hair, like our mother did, but so do a lot of people. I wonder if perhaps he's been drinking.

"Mom!" Ethan calls. He takes a step forward and makes to go chasing after her, but I catch him. I don't know why he's suddenly convinced that this woman is our mother and it wouldn't be healthy to encourage him.

"Mom's dead, Ethan. You know that."

"If you're not going to help me then at least make sure that dad doesn't see me."

"Ethan, wai-"

"Thalia." I freeze. I'm watching Ethan tear across the room in his haste to follow the woman that he thinks is our mother, but I'm not really seeing him, because that voice belongs to someone who I'm not entirely sure that I want to see. I turn abruptly to find him - Godric - stood before me. He looks heartbreakingly good in a suit. He holds a hand out to me.

"Dance with me?"

I ignore his request. "What are you doing here?"

He waits a moment to see if I'm going to take the hand that he's proffering. When I don't, he shrugs and thrusts it into his trouser pocket. He takes a few steps forward, stopping only when he's uncomfortably close to me. "I'm here because you want me here."

"No, I don't." I reply bluntly.

He raises an eyebrow. "I wouldn't be here if you didn't."

"Don't be ridiculous." I turn to walk away from him, but he's stood in front of me once again. Damn, he's fast. He holds out his hand again, his gaze harder.

"Dance with me." He says again. It's not really a question; I have the feeling that if I decline, he'll make me. That doesn't stop me from turning him down. Again.

"I'm not going to dance with you! My dad is here."

He looks confused. "What are you talking about?"

"What part of that sentence didn't you understand?" I made it perfectly clear. "My father is here." I say slowly.

"Thalia, no one's here. We're alone."

I scoff. Does he honestly expect me to believe that? "That's ridiculous. This room is full of-" My sentence comes to an abrupt end when I glance around, expecting to see a full room, only to find it eerily empty.

"Told you."

"What do you want, Godric?" I snap.

"You." He says simply. I'm a little taken aback, to say the least. Because if he wanted me then why would he say all those horrible things?

"You're lying."

He raises an eyebrow. "Am I?"

"I may not be two thousand years old, like some people, but I'm not an idiot, Godric, and I don't appreciate being treated li-"

"You know," he cuts across me loudly. "We can stand around and argue about this all night or we can get to the point."

"Which is?"

I don't get an answer. Not a verbal one, anyway, because apparently show, not tell, is Godric's way of doing things. One moment we're stood, me glaring at him, him watching me in amusement, and the next we're kind of, well, kissing. The urgent and forceful and I-want-to-rip-your-clothes-off way of kissing.

Yes, I should probably pull away. And yes, I'm sure I'll regret it in the long run, but it feels so good. It's like a fire has ignited inside of me, erasing any other thoughts or feelings that I might have. So I don't resist when he pulls me closer, nor do I pull away when his mouth moves from mine so that he can start a trail of kisses from my jaw line down to my neck or when he backs me up against the wall. In fact, in some distant part of my mind, I'm thanking the lord that the room has mysteriously emptied because there's no way in hell that I'll be able to stop now, to control myself. I try to suppress the smirk that comes to my lips when he pushes my dress up, but he catches it and returns it with one of his own.

"Thalia," He murmurs as he runs his hand up my leg, stopping when he reaches the material of my underwear.

"What?" I whisper breathlessly, hoping I'm not in for a it's-best-if-we-don't-do-this speech, because that would be damn cruel to leave me hanging like this.

"_Thalia,_" He says again, a little louder this time.

"_What?" _I reply. I look at him but he doesn't seem to be listening to me. He leans down to kiss me again. I watch as he leans in oh so slowly. There are butterflies in my stomach from anticipation. I blink and-

And I'm brought back to reality. I'm not pressed up against a wall with Godric, nor am I wearing a long white dress. I'm in my bed and Chloe is standing over me. Wow, what an anti-climax. I sigh and Chloe looks nervous.

"Sorry," she says, and I have to suppress the urge to roll my eyes; she's been saying sorry a lot lately. She's so desperate to make amends. "I didn't want to wake you. Your phone keeps ringing."

I push myself reluctantly into a sitting position and grab my phone off my bedside table. I push my hair out of my face and groan. That dream felt so real. _So _damn real. And I enjoyed it way more than I should. My phone starts ringing again and I snatch it up without bothering to look at the caller ID.

"What?" I snap as soon as I answer.

"Thalia," it's Ethan. "I need to talk to you."


	35. Chapter 35

"Are we going to talk then or are you going to continue to avoid looking at me for the next hour?"

It's midmorning and Ethan and I are sat in a diner downtown. Apparently whatever he wants to talk about couldn't be talked about over the phone and yet it was urgent enough for him to come rushing up here so that we could talk face to face, but ever since he's got here, he's refused to look at me properly and has done everything he can to avoid the question.

"You're going to think I'm crazy." He murmurs, clutching the mug of coffee in his hands.

"Why?"

"Because what I'm about to say _is _crazy. I didn't believe in all this kind of stuff. You know, magic and such, but vampires exist so surely other creatures do? Like werewolves and witches and…ghosts."

"_Ghosts?_"

"Look, I know it sounds ridiculous," he puts down his mug and glances around to check that no one is listening before leaning forward, "but I've been having these weird dreams lately."

"What kind of dreams?" I say slowly. I'm waiting, holding my breath in anticipation, because if Ethan says what I think he's about to say then I'll be officially freaked out. Vampires, I can handle. Crazy reverends intent on killing me and my vampire boyfriend? Fine. Dead mom visiting my brother and I in recurring dreams? Not ok.

"About mom."

Seriously? _Seriously? _So much for just a dream. Why is our mother - our dead mother - appearing to us in dreams? Why now? Why not in the months following her death, or the night before her funeral? Nights when we really, really needed her. Why now?

"Did she tell you that dad's a bad person?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"No," He says, frowning. "Why would sh-" He trails off and I watch, waiting for it to click. "Wait! Are you having dreams about mom too?"

"I only had the one!"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought they were just dreams! But never mind that, what did mom say to you?"

"What did mom say to _you?_"

I sigh in exasperation. "She told me to be careful and that dad is a bad man."

"Is that all she said?"

"She told me she loved me, and that I'm too trusting, like her." I pause because Ethan looks uncomfortable. "What's wrong? What did she say to you?"

"She said that I need to protect you. She said that something bad is going to happen and it's going to happen to you."

"What kind of a bad thing?"

"She didn't go into details, surprisingly enough."

I'm silent for a moment. Something bad is going to happen to me? Something bad has already happened to me! "When was this? The dream, I mean. When did you first have it?"

"A couple of months ago." He says with a shrug, "Why?"

"And you didn't think to mention it to me? Jesus Christ, Ethan! I almost died! A little heads up would have been nice!"

"Wait, _what? _I thought it was just a dream! What happened? Was it the vampire? Did he attack you?"

He says the word 'vampire' as though it's a filthy word. I raise an eyebrow. "I see dad's finally rubbing off on you." I say coldly and he shakes his head impatiently.

"No, that's not it. The dream I had last night, the reason I called, mom was in it again, but so were you. And so was…he."

"What happened?" I ask, not sure that I want to know the answer.

He takes a deep breath and there's an unbearably long pause before he answers."You died, Thalia. He killed you."

"He wouldn't." I say immediately and Ethan throws his hands up in exasperation.

"He's a vampire! It's what they do! How can you have so much faith in him?"

"No, that's not my point. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done it before he ended things. He had plenty of chances. He could have let me die when Steve Newlin drove a stake through my back, but he didn't. Besides, the chances of me ever seeing him again are next to none, so he doesn't pose that much of a threat to my life." I'm trying to play it off as no big deal because the alternative scares me. Because the alternative means acknowledging the fact that my dead mother may in fact be trying to warn both my brother and I of my impending death. And I'm not ready to die, especially not at the hands of Godric.

* * *

_Fourteen years ago_

"Amelia?"

The sound of footsteps making their way back and forth across the room above him ceased the moment his voice rang throughout the house. Only for a moment though.

"I'm up here." Amelia replied and the movements started again.

Slowly, he made his way up the stairs and into the bedroom that they shared to find her, his wife and the mother of his children, packing away what seemed to be all of her belongings into various suitcases.

"What's going on? What are you doing?"

"I'm leaving, John. And I'm taking the children with me."

His insides felt as though they were turning to lead in response to her words. Not because she was leaving, things hadn't been right between them for a while, but because she intended on taking the children, their children, with her.

"You can't just take them. They're my children, too. Our children!"

"Well I'm not leaving them here with you. We both know that only one of us is capable of looking after them, and it's not you."

"What are you going to do? Take them away and raise them with _him?" _

Amelia jumped as though he'd slapped her across her face and he felt a small surge of pleasure at her discomfort. "Who?" She replied, trying - and failing - to look nonchalant.

"You don't think I know about him? That man? Though he's not a man, is he? Not really. More of a monster."

"He is ten times the man you will _ever _be!" Amelia snapped. John found nothing but amusement at her anger.

"Do you honestly believe that I'm just going to let you walk out of this house with our children and let you and a vampire raise them? Do you not know me at all?"

"I'd rather a vampire raise them than you!" She snarled.

"And I'd rather die than let the two of you start a life together, let alone raise our children." John replied aggressively.

"That can be arranged."

The two of them glared at each other from across the room. How they'd arrived at that stage, where the mere sight of the other was enough to start an argument, was beyond either of them. They'd gradually drifted apart. John had drowned his sorrows in alcohol whilst Amelia had been left to try and look after their kids without them finding out that their father was well on the way to becoming an alcoholic, and a dangerous one at that, whilst conducting an illicit affair with a vampire. Perhaps they'd rushed things and got married too young. Perhaps they should have spent more time getting to know each other. Amelia couldn't say that she regretted it, though. Because had she not married him then her children wouldn't have been born.

"Look," Amelia began. She adopted a softer tone of voice this time in the hopes of avoiding a blazing argument. "It's not that I don't trust you with them." She lied. "It's just that I've been the one to raise them from the get-go. I'm the one who takes them to the doctors when they're ill. I'm the one who takes them to the dentist. I'm the one who washes their clothes and dries and irons them. It's me who buys them new ones when they outgrow them. I'm the one who takes them everywhere and then picks them up afterwards. I feed and bathe them. I do everything, John, and you do nothing. Do you even know where Ethan goes to school?"

"Of course I know!" John spat. "Don't be ridiculous!" What a stupid thing to suggest, that he didn't know where his own son went to school! He knew perfectly well that Ethan went to…well, he went to…that school. Down the road.

Amelia shook her head and surveyed him sympathetically. He had to resist the urge to throw something at her. He didn't want her pity. He didn't want anything from her.

"So you think that he'll be a better father to them than I will? I can just see it now, him teaching them the best way to kill a human and drain their body of blood. What a heart-warming scene!"

"John, don't."

"Don't what? Don't act like my wife is intending to take my children and raise them with a monster? A _demon? _How could you even consider that, Amelia? Do they mean nothing to you? Are you really willing to risk their lives just so that you can continue fucking a vampire?"

"Enough! Are you listening to yourself right now? I would _never _do anything to risk their lives. Never. They mean more to me than anything. That's why I have to take them, because they're not safe here. Not with you. You need help, John. You're bad-tempered, violent and selfish. What kind of mother would I be if I left them here with you?"

He watched, paralysed with anger, as Amelia closed the suitcase she'd been packing and zipped it shut. His vision seemed to be tinted with red as he watched her walk across the room, over to the door. The anger he was feeling now was so pure and unadulterated that he could think of nothing else. He forgot that his two children were across the landing, sleeping soundly. He forgot that by doing what he was about to do, he would only be stooping to the level of the vampire that was trying to take not only his wife, but his children too. He followed her out onto the landing where she was about to enter Ethan's room to rouse him from his slumber so that she could begin on her quest to ruin John's life. The lights were off which meant that, combined with the carpet that muffled his approaching footsteps, Amelia didn't see him coming. He grabbed a fist-full of her hair and dragged her head back so that she was staring up at him in shock.

"What are yo-"

"I'm doing this for them, Amelia." He growled. "You can take them and have that monster raise them, over my dead body." He paused as a sick smile twisted his features. "Or, more accurately, yours."

She had little over a second for what John had said to sink in before he had thrust her away from him. She staggered backwards for a moment before the floor disappeared from beneath her feet and she was tumbling down the stairs like a broken doll. He watched from the top step as she hit the cold hard floor at the bottom with a sickening crack. Her eyes were still open and fixated on him, but they could not see him. They couldn't see anything, would never see anything again. Amelia was dead.

John was still stood atop of the stairs, his sick smile intact, when the door to the living room opened and a small figure dressed in flannel pajamas covered in bunny rabbits (her favourite animal) with long dark hair, much like the hair of the dead woman lying at the foot of the stairs, stepped into the hallway clutching a cup.

"Momma?" She whispered when she laid eyes on her mother. "Are you sleeping, momma?" She knelt down and went to touch Amelia's shoulder, perhaps to shake her awake.

"Thalia!"

Thalia jumped and looked up, straining her eyes to see through the darkness. "Daddy? Daddy, what's wrong with momma? Is she sleeping?"

John cursed under his breath. What was she doing up? She was supposed to be in bed, asleep! She couldn't have picked a worse night to be up and sneaking around when she was supposed to be in bed. She was just like her mother in the way that she went out of her way to do the things she shouldn't.

"Yes, sweetheart. Mom's sleeping."


	36. Chapter 36

After a review made about how things are happening too fast and being improperly timed, I would like to reiterate that I have very little time to write new chapters and try and make them as eventful as possible as I'm almost always working. Obviously if I had an unlimited amount of time then, yes, I would be able to spend a lot more time on both the quality and the quantity of this story, however unless you'd prefer to wait months for a new chapter, then things are going to happen a little faster than necessary and maybe they will be improperly timed but I'm honestly trying to keep it as eventful as possible for you guys.

Also, in regards to the vampire that Amelia was going to leave John for, no it isn't Godric. That would just be weird. It also wasn't going to be an important point of the story, like I hadn't planned for the vampire to pop up later on. As of right now, that vampire is just the reason that Thalia's dad hates vampires so much.

* * *

_Six months later_

"What about these?"

Aimee is holding up a bunch of lilies with the sort of expression that I'd normally associate with intense concentration whilst studying. Apparently picking out flowers for a wedding requires the same amount of deliberation, if not more.

"They're nice. Does Alex want lillies?"

Aimee rolls her eyes. "If it were left up to Alex, he'd pick a few dandelions from the back yard and done with it." She looks down at the flowers in her hands for a few moments before sighing. "Ok, I can't be bothered to do this today. Lets just go home, I'll come back tomorrow."

I grin and push myself off of the wall I've been leaning against. This must be the fifth fower shop that we've come to in the past week alone and Aimee still can't decide which ones she wants for her wedding. They have to be perfect and as of right now, she still hasn't found the right ones. She's been in wedding fever for the past five months or so, ever since she and Alex set a date (five weeks from today) and I've been roped in to helping. I was kind of grateful for it, actually. With all the wedding preparations coupled with college, all the weird supernatural stuff just seemed to melt away. I stopped having weird dreams about mom and, as far as I know, so did Ethan. I haven't had anymore dreams about Godric, either. Well, I had two others in the weeks following the first dream, but after that, nothing. In fact I've not seen nor heard anything of Godric since those dreams. Not gonna lie, that was kind of a relief. I mean, moving on is hard enough without being dogged by dreams about your ex.

As we're walking out of the shop, Aimee is reading a message on her cell. She frowns at it for a moment.

"Are you bringing a date?"

"What?"

"To the wedding?"

Oh. A date. Honestly, I hadn't really thought about it. "I don't know. I mean, maybe. I don't really…I mean, I haven't really given it much thought."

"Well you better hurry up, otherwise you'll end up with Mark."

Oh lord, not Mark. I mean, he's nice enough, I suppose. Well, not really. From what I've gathered over the past few months, he doesn't really like anything. Except beer pong and world of warcraft. And me apparently. I kind of can't stand him. "Would it be totally weird if I brought my brother? I really don't think that I can handle a whole day as Mark's date without brutally murdering him."

Aimee laughs. "You could always just not bring a date?" She suggests.

"No. Because then Mark might try to, I don't know, try it on. Because, you know, eight rejections isn't enough, right? You know what they say, ninth time lucky!"

"So you're going to pretend that your brother is your boyfriend?"

"No! I'm going to let people assume that, unless they ask."

Aimee rolls her eyes, but she's smiling. She's met Ethan a couple of times, and liked him (I think) so me bringing him to her wedding (for company, not as my date) shouldn't be a problem.

* * *

I turn the card over in my hands with a sigh. It's been carefully crafted with delicate hands, I can tell. The intricate gold writing inside has been handwritten. It's a generic message inviting me to a wedding. Of course, that's not what has me frustrated. It's the implication behind it. Aimee hasn't invited me to her wedding because we're good friends and she wants me there on her special day. She's invited me in some ridiculous attempt to reunite me with Thalia. It's infuriating. Maddening. She knows, I know she does, that I want nothing more than to fix things with Thalia. I did what I had to do to protect her, not just from the Fellowship but from anyone else who might want to hurt her because of her relationship with me. From the point of view of those who hate vampires, Thalia is guilty by association. I had to cut her off. I handled it badly, I know, but I didn't have any other choice. She almost died because of me! Aimee knows this, and yet she still seems to believe that it would be advisable for me to attempt to rekindle our relationship. It wouldn't. It would be disastrous. And that kills me. It's taken me every ounce of self control that I possess not to throw caution to the winds, these last six months or so, and seek out Thalia to beg for her forgiveness. Her face, the way she looked at me the last time I saw her, still haunts me. I dream about her, too. On rare occasions she's happy. She'll smile at me, caress my face and tell me that she loves me. Other times she'll scream at me. She'll tell me that I was the worst thing that ever happened to me. That I deserve to die. That she wants the pleasure of killing me herself. These are worse than the dreams in which she is happy, obviously, but both pale in comparison to the more commonly recurring dream in which she is dead. I'll find her, pale and unmoving. At first I'll think that she's sleeping, but as I go to shake her awake, I'll realise that her heart is still in her chest. And it's my fault. It's always my fault.

I crumple up the invitation, I can't go to the wedding, not if she's going to be there, and throw it to the other side of the room with a cry of exasperation. This wasn't supposed to happen. None of it. I wasn't supposed to fall for a human. It was never going to end well. It has never ended well in the past, you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now.


	37. Chapter 37

"What do you think?"

This is the first time I've seen Aimee in her wedding dress - she didn't want anyone to see it before the actual day - and she looks amazing. Really. Her hair is sleek and wavy and has been swept over to one side. It's simple but it still looks beautiful. The dress is a strapless affair. Nothing too fancy. Simple but elegant. The train spreads out over a meter behind her and I wonder how on earth she's going to manage not tripping over. I'd be straight on the floor if it was me.

"You look incredible." I say. It's true, she really does.

"Thanks." Aimee replies and - to my astonishment, she blushes. I honestly don't ever think I've seen her blush before. Then again, it _is _her wedding day; she's bound to be nervous. Or excited. Or both.

"Do you think Alex will like it?" She asks, looking worried.

"Well, if he doesn't then he's an idiot."

She gives a nervous giggle and takes a break from wringing her hands together to smooth down her dress.

"Are you ok?"

"No. Yes. No. Maybe. I think so." She turns away from the mirror to face me properly. "I'm nervous. I mean, really nervous. More than I thought I would be. What if I trip up or say the wrong thing or just mess up in general? Or what if Alex changes his mind when he sees me and doesn't want to marry me anymore? Or what i-"

"-stop! You're over thinking it. Relax and _enjoy _it. It's your wedding day. You're getting married, Aimee! Of course you're going to be nervous, but you should be happy, too!"

She takes a deep breath. And another. And another. For a few moments, I think that maybe she's going to throw up and I'm just preparing to take evasive action in order to avoid ruining her dress when she breaks into a smile. "You're right." She says. She picks up her bouquet, turns back to the mirror and surveys herself one last time. "Ok. I'm ready."

* * *

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

I watch, grinning, as Alex and Aimee embrace. Despite her worries, Aimee didn't trip, nor did she say the wrong thing or mess up and Alex didn't change his mind when he saw her. In fact, I think that the moment he saw her erased any doubts that he may or may not have had; his jaw literally dropped.

They're making their way down the aisle now. Aimee grins at me as she passes and I grin back. I'm so pleased for her. So pleased. And maybe a little bit jealous, because she just seems so happy! And here I am, at a wedding, with my _brother _as my date. I shouldn't complain, it could have been much worse; Mark spent the majority of the service trying to catch my eye.

* * *

It's getting dark by the time we arrive at the reception. It's seems to be a nice night, thank goodness, which means that the fact that the reception is mostly outside is more of a help than a hindrance. There's a dance floor, surrounded by dozens of small tables, that opens up onto a lawn which also has dozens of tables dotted around. The light from the dance floor spills out onto the grass, lighting it up almost as if it were the middle of the day.

"I know I should have said this earlier, but you look great." Ethan murmurs as we sit down at one of the tables beside the dance floor.

"Thanks." I reply with a smile. I'm about to return the compliment when he continues.

"I think that guy over there must think so too," I follow his gaze and am immediately disgruntled. "He can barely take his eyes off of you."

"That's Mark." I mutter. "He who would have probably ended up as date if you hadn't agreed to come with me."

"You don't like him?"

"Not really."

"How do you know him?"

"I don't, really. He's one of Alex's friends. I've only met him like twice. He's kind of a dick."

He laughs. "Fair enough." He rises from his seat. "I'm getting a drink. Do you want one?"

"Sure. I'll have whatever you're having."

He nods and disappears into the crowd. I sit, watching as Aimee stands in the centre of the dance floor, swaying slowly to the music, her arms wrapped around Alex's neck. She leans in to whisper something to him and he laughs and kisses her. I sigh. They look like the perfect couple. I drag my gaze away from them and survey the room. The atmosphere is pleasant. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. The chatter that surrounds me is light-hearted and good-humoured. Even I'm in a relatively good mood. That is, until the empty seat next to me is filled by Mark.

"I bet this kind of stuff seems boring to you now. You know, after dating a vampire." For someone who claims to hate vampires, he sure brings them up a lot.

"Not really. I wasn't with him for long."

"Probably a good thing, getting out before you ended up as a personal blood bag."

"Yeah, I guess." I reply casually. I'm watching the people on the dance floor, instead of looking at him, in the hopes that Mark will get the hint and at least change the subject, if not go away.

"Is necrophilia like your thing then?"

I turn to stare at him in shock. I wonder for a moment if I've misheard him. "_What?_"

"Well, vampires are dead, aren't they?"

I continue to stare at him, because I'm not sure if he's making fun of me or whether he's being sincere. I'm not even sure how to answer. Of course necrophilia isn't my 'thing', but even if it was, it wouldn't be something that I'd admit, would it? "Well, yeah, technically they're dead but I don't really think that it counts as necrophilia. It's not like I'm digging up graves and sleeping with skeletons, is it?"

"Sleeping with vampires is probably worse." Mark says with a shrug.

"Why?"

"Well, they kill people. It's their basic instinct. They're incapable of love, of any human emotions. They're monsters."

"Humans can be monsters, too. It depends on the person, not the species."

Mark shakes his head, laughing. "If you say so."

"I do say so. I dated a vampire, remember? He never laid a finger on me."

"How do you know that for sure? They've got all sorts of tricks, mind control being one of them. How do you know that he wasn't beating you within an inch of your life every night and then making you forget?"

I open my mouth to retort angrily that he wouldn't have done that, that he wasn't like that, but then I remember that our whole relationship was just a part of some little game to him, wasn't it? So he could have very well been doing horrendous things to me and then making me forget. But I'm not about to admit that to Mark, no way. Especially not whilst he's looking at me with that smug, superior expression.

"You're an ass." I hiss at him, rising from my chair. I turn on my heel, intending to go and find Ethan and keep as far away from Mark as possible, and almost walk straight into the person stood behind me. My exclamation of surprise dies in my throat when I see who exactly is stood before me. For a moment, I think I might be seeing things, because there's no way that he would be here. None at all. Have I gone mad out of longing and started hallucinating? I take a moment to survey him, starting from his shoes, just to make sure that what I'm seeing is real. And it seems to be, because no matter how many times that I blink, he doesn't disappear. When I reach his eyes, his mouth turns upwards into a small, apprehensive smile.

"Hello." He says simply.

For a moment I'm speechless. In that moment, I seem to freeze at the mere sight of him. And I don't mean freeze as in I can't move, I mean I can literally feel myself becoming cold, hard and bitter at the mere sight of him. I'm not sure what exactly it is that makes him think that he can just turn up here, smile at me and everything will be alright after the way he left things, but it makes me angry none the less.

"What the hell are you doing here, Godric?"


	38. Chapter 38

"You came."

"I wasn't going to."

"What made you change your mind?" I look over to where Thalia's sitting, immersed in a conversation with a boy I don't recognise. Despite myself, I feel a stab of jealousy. I hate myself for not being able to control myself, for not being able to stay away.

"I'm incredibly selfish. I couldn't quite stop myself." Aimee suppresses a smile and I sigh. "It looks as though I may be too late, anyway." I say, gesturing over to where Thalia is sat.

"What, Mark? Oh, no, she hates that guy."

I look back towards the two of them and, almost as though she's confirming Aimee's words, I see her narrowing her eyes at the boy, Mark, in what I assume is resentment.

"Are you gonna go and talk to her?"

"I've come this far. It would be rather a waste of my lack of self control if I didn't."

* * *

"Hello." I say. I try to smile but my nerves get the better of me - yes, apparently someone of over two thousand years of age can still become nervous - and it turns into more of an expression of apprehension than a smile. Thalia hasn't said a word. She's staring at me as though she can't quite believe her eyes. I don't blame her, it's been almost seven months since the horrendous event with the fellowship. Slowly, she catches my eye and her expression visibly hardens. If my heart could beat, it would have been working overtime whilst waiting for her to respond. If I could blush, I surely would have under the intensity of her gaze.

"What the hell are you doing here, Godric?" She says finally. She's angry, as well she should be. The way I left things between us was appalling. Necessary but appalling all the same.

"I came to see you." I say quietly, as I'm aware that Mark is watching our exchange. I can almost see him straining his ears to catch our words.

"Why? You made yourself perfectly clear. I have nothing to say to you."

"Well, I have plenty to say to you. If you still feel the same way when I've finished then that's fine, but at least hear me out."

* * *

"Fine. Talk." I'm aware that I'm being a bitch, but I think I'm a little more than justified in acting that way.

"Can we do it somewhere a little less," he glances behind me at Mark who is watching us closely, "obvious."

"Where would you suggest?"

He turns and looks around the room. He seems to consider something for a moment before turning back to me and holding out his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

"Not really."

"Please."

"I thought you wanted to talk?"

"I do. It's just that your brother and Aimee are both watching our every move. If we at least appear to be getting along, they might relax."

I glance over his shoulder and, sure enough, Ethan and Aimee are both stood at the bar, watching us like hawks, though as soon as they see that I'm looking, they try to look as though they're deep in conversation. I sigh, because Godric is the last person I want to dance with. But I also want to hear him out; he owes me an explanation. So I take his hand and let him lead me over to the dance floor. I'm cursing myself inwardly because when his hand touches mine, it's like there's an explosion of butterflies inside me. Fuck. Why do I feel like this? Why am I so weak? So…_human?_ It's ridiculous. I won't let him see it, though. I have an excellent poker face.

He places both of his hands on my waist and I wind mine around his neck. I was going to rest them on his shoulders so I wouldn't look too keen but then I remembered that we aren't twelve.

We sway on the spot for a few unbearably long moments in utter silence. I'm avoiding his gaze but I can feel his eyes on my face. I wish he wouldn't do that. I clear my throat uncomfortably and let my gaze flicker to his for a moment, because I have to look at him at sometime. "Ok, what did you want to say?"

He takes a deep breath. "I lied."

"Yeah, I know, there's no need to remind me."

"No, I mean when I told you that I didn't care about you, when I told you that it was all a game, I was lying. It wasn't a game, not even close. I'll admit that, yes, I've played with women in the past. Used and welI and truly abused them until I was bored, but I was different then, I was a monster. But I changed. Evolved." He pauses and takes another deep breath. His hands tighten a little on my waist and he's looking at me with such a tortured expression that I almost feel sorry for him. "Staying away from you has been excruciating. I wanted you to move on and find someone else, but the thought of you doing so made me feel like someone had forced a red hot poker through my chest."

"I don't understand. If that's how you feel then why-?"

"I was trying to protect you. After what happened with the fellowship, I thought that you being associated with me was dangerous. You almost died. If I hadn't have been there to heal you then you certainly would have. I needed you to be able to go about your everyday life without having to worry about being murdered, like a normal teenager. I thought if you hated me then it would make the process easier. I wanted it to be a clean break."

"So everything you said, all those horrible things, was just part of your plan to protect me?"

"Yes."

I nod, considering this new piece of information. I suppose I should have realised, really, given the circumstances. Still, that doesn't make it any more acceptable. "I am trying _very_ hard not to slap you right now." I mutter aggressively. To my satisfaction, he looks shocked.

"What?"

"You do _not _get to make that decision for me! It's my life and therefore _my_ decision. I appreciate that you were trying to protect me and all, so thank you for that, but I really wish you had just told me the truth. Do you have any idea how bad I felt?"

"Actually I do. I felt your pain as well as my own. There were days I seriously considered walking out into the sun."

"Wait," I'm confused, "what?"

"My blood. I gave you my blood to heal you after Steve Newlin tried to kill you. When a human ingests a vampire's blood, it forms a bond. I felt your pain just as clearly as I felt my own."

"And yet you still let me believe that I was all just part of some elaborate game for your entertainment?"

"I wanted only to protect you."

I'm silent for a minute. Because what do you say to that? I can't exactly say 'fuck you' and be done with it, because he was trying to stop me from ending up dead. I mean, talk about ungrateful.

"So what made you change your mind?" I say finally.

"Isn't it obvious? I love you."

I inhale sharply. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe for him to say that he felt guilty and this was his way of making amends, but definitely not that. I feel like I should say it back, or say something, anything, but I…I just can't. I remove my arms from around his neck and move away from him as quickly as I can. For some reason, the dance floor seems to be filled with people, so much that I can barely move. Maybe someone's doing a speech. I manage to push my way through the sea of people and out onto the lawn, which is now all but empty of people. I wasn't prepared for this, for a declaration of love. I don't know how I'm supposed to react. Do I fall into his arms and tell him I love him too? Or do I continue on with my anger at his attempt to protect me? _I don't know!_ There should be instructions for this kind of thing.

"Thalia?"

Oh, fucking hell. "What?"

"I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted you to know. If you don't feel the same-"

"But I do! That's the problem. I do!" My words are coming out unbidden, and I can't seem to stop them. "I was moving on, just like you wanted. I was moving on and I was happy and then you just decide to appear and tell me that and now I don't know what to do! What do you want me to do?"

"I don't want you to do anything. I told you, I just wanted you to know how I felt."

"No, you see, you can't say that. You can't come here and tell me you love me and then say that you just wanted me to know. Ok, that is not a legitimate answer. What do you want me to do, Godric?" I'm perfectly aware that I'm starting to sound hysterical and that I'm not making much sense, but it just keeps coming.

"I don't want an-"

"_What do you want?" _I almost scream at him.

"I want you!" He says, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "Forever. I want to be with you forever. I want to prove to you how sorry I am for what I did, and I want to show you how much I love you. Because I do. I love you so much."

For some reason, his words have a calming effect on me. The hysteria that's been rising inside of me seems to have died down, anyway. My heart is beating faster than is normal, which I'm sure he can hear, and I'm breathing hard, but I'm seeing more clearly than I was a minute ago.

I love him. I love him more than I thought possible and I hate myself for it because it's just one more weapon that he could hurt me with. Am I weak, for still feeling the way that I do? Probably. But if being in love makes me weak, then fine. Guilty.

"I-I love you, too."


	39. Chapter 39

Ok,so this chapter is shorter than I would have liked it to be and probably horribly written and it's taken me ages to write because I just could not decide what to do with it so here you go. As always, please forgive me for the horribly long wait between updates; apparently I sold my soul to work when I accepted the job.

* * *

"Do you?" He looks shocked, though I can't imagine why. It can't be that much of a surprise to him, can it?

"Of course I do." I say exasperatedly. For someone so clever, he can be incredibly stupid sometimes. I sigh, because my anger has died down somewhat but I feel like I should still be mad at him. I mean, _seven months _I spent thinking that I was a pawn in one of his games, but he was trying to save my life. It's hard to stay angry at someone who was trying to save your life, even if they went about it the wrong way. "Next time, just tell me the truth, ok?"

"Next time?" He raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. Next time."

His expression is a blank for a split second as he regards me before he breaks into a smile. I can't help but return it; it's infectious.

"Where do we go from here then?"

* * *

We stayed at the wedding for a while. Congratulated Aimee and Alex on their marriage and they in turn congratulated us. Well, I say congratulated, what I mean is that Aimee told Godric that she was glad that he'd stopped being an ass. My brother, who I thought would be angry, was actually very happy for me. Mark, on the other hand, wasn't. He didn't say so specifically but translating the glowers that he sent in our direction wasn't hard.

"You know," Godric murmured to me as the reception started to die down. "We've still got six or so hours to go until the sun rises." His tone of voice was full of an emotion that I wasn't used to hearing from him. He was usually so calm and collected that hearing his voice come out ragged and filled with desire was…well, it was kind of hot.

Which is how we ended up here, at his place. I'm hot and I'm tired and it feels like we've been at it for hours, and yet I can't quite pull myself away from him. It feels like a dream, a reprieve or sorts, and that after tonight Godric will just disappear again, like he did last time. I'm being ridiculous, I know, but I just can't shake the feeling. I'm not complaining, though. Make-up sex with Godric isn't exactly a chore.

He moves his hips very slightly beneath me and I bite on my bottom lip, willing myself not to make a sound. I think he notices this though because the faintest of smirks appears on his lips and he does it again. If I had even a fraction of his strength, the sheets beneath my fingers would surely tear as my hands contract into fists. I wrap my arms around his neck and press my lips to his. He responds enthusiastically, to my enjoyment. I sit up, pulling him with me. He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me down slightly and pushing himself deeper. He's pulls away from the kiss and one of his hands comes up to push my hair over my shoulder.

"I love you." He murmurs against my lips before moving to kiss along my jaw line. I try to suppress a grin. He keeps saying it, like he's afraid that I'll forget if he doesn't reiterate. Like I could ever forget. His lips are moving down my neck now. He reaches the spot where my neck joins my shoulder and pauses. I hear the click of his fangs, feel them scrape against my skin, and I tense.

"I'm sorry." He murmurs, drawing back. He avoids my eyes and brings a hand up to hide his fangs. He's ashamed, I think. Because despite how evolved he is when it comes to humans, he's still a vampire. He still needs human blood. Still craves it, perhaps? I reach out and pull his hand away from his mouth. His fangs are still there; sharp, pointed and lethal, reminding me how incredibly easy it would be for him to kill me if he wanted to. I've already made my decision, though. I sweep my hair completely to one side so that it's out of the way.

"No." Godric says firmly when he realises my intention. "I won't."

"But you want to, don't you?"

"That's…that's not the point. I could hurt you."

"You won't."

"How do you know that?"

"I trust you."

He's silent for a long moment. I try to convey to him silently that I _want _him to do this. I know that Tru Blood doesn't satisfy him the way that real blood can. The way that my blood can. He moves forwards very slowly. I can feel his breath on my neck and I wonder if he's going to change his mind when I feel the pressure on my skin as he bites down. I can't help the gasp that leaves my lips upon the contact, but he doesn't stop. I can feel my blood leaving my body as it gushes into Godric's mouth. It's not entirely unpleasant, actually. It's a little painful, but the kind of pain that can be pleasurable at the same time. He groans against my neck and pushes me down onto my back and he's lay on top of me, still attached to my neck. One of his hands is resting on my hip, his thumb caressing my hipbone, whilst the other supports my lower back. When was the last time he fed off a human, I wonder? Did he drain them dry? Kill them?

Before I have time to ponder much further, he pulls himself away. His fangs are still exposed and dripping with blood. My blood.

"Are you alright?" I nod. "Here," he lifts his wrist to his mouth and tears through the skin with his fangs. He pushes his wrist towards me and I take it without question. As I drink, I can feel the wounds on my neck healing. I only take a little, because that's all I need. "Better?"

"Yeah."

"Good." He leans in, his hands cupping my face, and brushes my lips very slightly with his own. My blood is still on his lips, and his on mine, but I don't care. I wind my arms around his neck and kiss him - oh, how I've missed this.

"I love you." I murmur against his lips.

"I know."


	40. Chapter 40

Hello! I sincerely apologise for the huge gap between this chapter and the last. I've been ill and tired and ill again over the past month or so and I had no intention whatsoever of leaving this for so long but it happened and I'm sorry. Also, I'm gonna forewarn you all that the end is drawing near. Obviously it has to end at some point but it will be soon (or not soon, depending on how long it takes me to write the chapters). I've also got the distinct feeling that a lot of people will not be happy about the way it ends, but the way that it's going to end has always been the same. As always, thank you for reading, subscribing, reviewing, favouriting etc. X

* * *

I can't even begin to comprehend how on earth I've lived without this for so long. How I've lived without her. It seems almost impossible now, looking back. I glance down at her sleeping figure and the idea that I even considered living without her just seems so inherently _wrong. _Abhorrent even. And that's coming from someone who's done a lot of things that could be considered as wrong.

I move away from her slightly before swinging my legs over the side of the bed and pushing myself up into a standing position. There's still an hour or so to go until dawn and I'm thirsty. I grab a glass that's stood on the bedside table and turn, only to find my way blocked by a horribly familiar face. One that I never thought I'd have the misfortune of seeing again.

"Hello, Godric." She says in the same husky voice that drew me in in the first place.

"_Willow?" _

"You remember me." She says through a beatific smile. "I'm glad. I thought you had forgotten."

I stare, completely and utterly gob smacked, at the girl stood before me. She looks exactly the same as I remember her; pale flawless skin, wide hazel eyes and long auburn hair. I remember being captivated by her eyes. I would often lose myself in them for hours on end.

At a second glance I can see that she has dark shadows under her eyes, like she hasn't slept in a while, and her skin is too tight against her bones, making the contours of her face almost skeletal. She looks ill. Unhealthy.

"Why are you here?"

"I have a message for you."

"From?"

"The spirits. Specifically one spirit. Her name is Amelia."

"Amelia?" I begin with a frown. "I don't know anyone by that name."

"She wants you to stop. To quit while you're ahead. Let her go."

"Let who go?" I reply, feigning ignorance.

"Thalia." Willow says firmly. "She's so fragile. So easily broken." She gestures towards Thalia's sleeping body. "Look at her, Godric."

"I'd die before I hurt her."

"I wish you'd had that philosophy where I was concerned." She says with a sad smile and I wince. "But you're not the problem. The problem is those who will target her because of you." There's a long pause. I'm trying to fabricate a suitable response when Willow continues. "Someone close to her is going to betray her. They're going to betray her and the repercussions are going to be…severe."

"Are you sure you're not referring to what happened with the fellowship of the sun?" I say casually, though just the memory of what happened in that damned place fills me with dread.

"Godric, if you don't let her go now then you're all going to end up dead."

"Why did this Amelia send you to tell me this instead of coming herself?"

"You know perfectly well why, Godric." Willow snaps. Suddenly she's not the naïve, gentle girl that I found myself infatuated with once upon a time. She's hard and cold and cruel. "I trusted you. With everything I had! I loved you, just like she does! Maybe even more, and look where that got me. I was left abandoned on the forest floor with my throat torn out. Amelia sent me because she thought that you might listen to me. She thought that you'd feel guilty about how you ended our relationship and realise that your influence in her daughter's life is dangerous."

"I will protect Thalia to the ends of the earth and back again."

"You'll tear her throat out just like you did mine." Willow laughs. "You'll drain her body dry and then leave her by the side of the road. It's who you are, Godric. It's _what _you are. Don't say I didn't warn you." I open my mouth to retort but she's gone. Her words seem to hang in the air, burning before me. What she said, about Thalia being targeted because of me, that's always been true and it will remain so as long as humans and vampires are at war. As long as we're together I can protect her. Or, I can try to at least. I can't stay by her side twenty-four hours a day, for obvious reasons. There was a time when I might have done exactly that, though. It's been over a thousand years but I can still remember exactly how infatuated I was with Willow. I was obsessed. I wanted to own her. I wanted every little bit of her. And I wanted everyone to know. I didn't regard her as an equal, but rather as a possession. She was mine and anyone who so much as _thought _about taking her away from me ended up dead.

It wasn't a healthy relationship. It wasn't even really a relationship. More of an ownership. But I was able to protect her. Not from myself but from others. Times have changed now, though. I can't keep a constant watch on her, and nor would I want to. I don't own Thalia. She's not a possession.

Perhaps Willow is right. Perhaps the right thing to do would be to just let her go. However, it's not my decision to make. I won't make the same mistake twice. The decision must be hers.

I turn back to the bed. I need to wake her, to tell her about Willow so that she can decide whether or not she wants to leave, but when my gaze lands on her, I'm greeted by a feeling of unease. At a first glance, she appears to be sleeping, still in the exact same position that I left her in - on her back, one arm on her stomach, the other above her head which is facing the wall - but it becomes apparent to me almost immediately that she's incredibly still. Too still. I didn't notice it before because I was too preoccupied with Willow, but I can't hear her heart beating anymore. Her chest doesn't rise and fall steadily in time with her breathing, because she _isn't _breathing.

I'm back on the bed in a second, one leg on either side of her as I kneel over her. I whisper her name but she doesn't respond - not that I was expecting her to. I place both hands beneath her and pull her up into what would be a sitting position, but her body is limp as well as unnaturally cold. Her hair falls back onto the pillow as I lift her, exposing her neck. Or, what used to be her neck. It's now nothing but a bloody mess, not unlike those often used on the victims in horror movies. It looks a lot like how I left Willow all those years ago.

I can't stop the panic that's rising inside of me. How can she possibly be dead? I didn't even leave the room! When I awoke she was fine, I'm sure of it. Though I'm no longer required to breathe, my breath is coming in short, sharp bursts, almost as if I'm hyperventilating, though that's impossible. I just…I don't understand. _How has this happened?_

"No," I can hear myself whispering over and over again. I shout her name in an attempt to call her back from whatever dark, dead wasteland she's been taken to, but to no avail. She's gone. Dead.


	41. Chapter 41

Just a warning, if there are any full stops (full stop, period, whatever) missing then I apologise. The full stop key on my laptop is being a bitch , so I apologise in advance if there are any missing from the ends of sentences and so forth.

Thank you for reading, guys. I really appreciate it. X

* * *

"Told you." I turn to find that Willow is back. She's stood at the end of the bed, looking down at the pair of us in amusement. I'm at her side in a second.

"What did you do to her?"

"I didn't do an-"

"_-WHAT did you do to her? _Tell me, or so help me God, I'll-"

"-You'll what? Kill me? Rip my throat out? Drain my body until it's nothing more than a broken shell and then leave me in a forest to rot?" Her expression turns cold. "Oh no. Wait, you already did that."

"Just tell me!" I demand desperately, as though knowing how exactly she was killed will somehow help me reverse the process.

"I didn't do anything." Willow says calmly.

"She's _dead."_

She gestures over to where Thalia's body is with a nod of her head. "Look again."

Confused, I slowly turn to where Willow is indicating and my eyes widen in complete and utter shock. The gruesome scene from only seconds ago has vanished. Her neck is pale white and whole. There's no indication of a wound anywhere, nor that there ever was one. I can see her chest moving slowly up and down and hear the sound of her heart beating. It's like music to my ears.

"She's alive." I murmur without taking my eyes off her. I'm worried that if I look away for even a second, I'll lose her again.

"She was never dead." Willow replies. Almost as if she's confirming her words, Thalia shifts in her sleep, turning herself from one side to the other and stretching out one of her arms, almost as though she's reaching for something.

"She longs for you, even when she's sleeping." Willow says. I turn away from Thalia's sleeping form to look at her. Her eyes are cast downward and I can't quite read her expression. "I'd find that adorable if I didn't know exactly how it felt. And how it's going to end." She's bitter, I think. And she has every right to be. I wonder how long she's been there, on the other side, watching me. Watching me ruin the lives of countless others, the same way I did hers.

"How did you do it?" I say after a long moment of silence.

"Do what?"

"Make it look like she was…you know."

"Oh. It's a bit like glamouring, I suppose."

* * *

I watch as Godric turns his attention back to Thalia and I feel a flash of jealousy so pure that I almost feel as though brutally murdering her would be something way within my capability. That's the problem with being dead, there's no moving on. People try and make out like dying is some great big righteous release from life, like death is just one big adventure and when you leave this world, you'll have earned your place in a world where everything is well and good and you'll be eternally happy. It's not. Death is ugly and undignified. Being dead means spending an eternity alone in the world. You'll still be there, except not really. I don't know if it's the same for everyone. I guess not, otherwise the other side would be packed with every soul that's ever died, and that's not the case. The other side is lonely. You rarely come across another person. All you can do is wander, wander and watch as the world goes on turning. It's hardly a wonder that I haven't moved on. That I still resent Godric for killing me. That I still want him to love me. Perhaps that's why Amelia sent me, out of all his victims, because she knew that my jealousy would go from a lone flickering flame to an inferno when I saw him with _her_.

It'll stick in his mind, the image of her dead. That much I know for certain. Amelia can hardly say that I didn't deliver her message effectively. He understood the message clearly. I can tell by the look of horror still etched onto his beautiful features. I just hope for her sake that he heeds our warning before what Amelia fears comes to pass.

* * *

"Godric?" I lift my head slightly to find Thalia walking hesitantly towards me. I can tell just by looking at her that she's just woken up. "What are you doing up?" She asks me, confused. "It's daytime."

"I couldn't sleep." I say with a shrug. I glare down at the glass on the table in front of me. It's full to the brim with the synthetic blood that I dislike so much. I run a finger around the rim of the glass, just for something to do, and to avoid Thalia'a gaze.

"You're bleeding." She notes as she takes a seat opposite me.

I'm not oblivious to the steady trickle of blood that's started to leak from my nose. "I know."

"Godric, what's wrong? What's happened?"

"Do you trust me?" I say abruptly and she looks mildly surprised. "Not to kill you, I mean." I can't shake Willow's warning. What if I do tear her throat out, like I have so many others?

She raises her eyebrows and cocks her head slightly to the side, almost as if to highlight the puncture marks on her neck. The skin there is still bloodied and I feel a wave of nausea that has nothing to do with my still being awake during the daytime.

"Is this about you feeding from me?"

_Of course it's not, _I want to cry out. She's not a vampire so she can't possibly imagine the sheer _pleasure _that comes from feeding intimately from someone. But I'm about to lie and say yes, when I remember who I'm talking to, and what happened last time I tried to lie to protect her.

"No." I say eventually. I'm not going to lie, not this time. "I saw someone last night."

"Who?"

"Her name is - was - Willow."

"_Was?_"

I hesitate. Thalia knows that I've killed people - it comes with the territory - but we've never gone into details. Why would we? It's not something that I like to talk about and I know it's certainly not something that she wants to hear.

"She's dead. I killed her."

"Oh." There's a long silence. Thalia stares at me at a loss for words. I don't blame her. How do you reply to that? "When?"

"Centuries ago."

"So ghosts exist now?"

"Of course they do."

"Well, what did she want?"

I lower my gaze back down to the full glass. Where to begin? I lift the glass to my lips and take a swig of the crimson liquid. I wince as it slides down my throat. It's an acquired taste, one that I haven't quite acquired yet. I set the glass back down on the table and push it away.

"Godric." Thalia prompts. I look up. She's watching me with wide, curious eyes. She doesn't look scared, like I am. I wonder if she'll run screaming from me once I tell her.

"She advised me to let you go. She said that you'd be targeted because of me - of course, we know that already - and that someone close to you is going to betray you. Apparently the repercussions will be severe."

"'Severe'? What exactly constitutes as 'severe'?" Thalia replies with a frown. She doesn't look scared, as I imagined she would, but angry.

"Your death, according to Willow."

"'According to Willow'?" She repeats incredulously. "Who is this Willow to presume that she knows anything about me or what's best for me? More to the point, why does she care?"

"She said someone sent her."

"Who? Who sent her?"

"I believe she said her name was Amelia. Does that mean anything to you?"

I was expecting Thalia to shake her head in confusion. Perhaps repeat the name experimentally to see if it rang any bells. What I wasn't expecting was the expression to be wiped from her face and replaced with one of shock. I wasn't expecting her pallor to visibly pale, and I certainly wasn't expecting her heart rate to pick up at the mere mention of the name.

"Amelia? You're sure? She definitely said Amelia?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Amelia was my mom's name."

"Your mother?" I stare at her blankly for a moment. I can hear Willow's voice in the back of my head. _Amelia sent me because she thought that you might listen to me. She thought that you__'__d feel guilty about how you ended our relationship and realise that your influence in her daughter__'__s life is dangerous. _Of course.

"So, what, now my dead mom is sending you the ghost of girlfriends past to try and guilt trip you into breaking up with me?"

"Apparently." I pause. I almost don't want to ask my next question. "What do you want to do about it?"

She regards me carefully for a moment. After an unbearably long silence, she gets up and comes around to my side of the table. She stops in front of me and reaches out for one of my hands. She pulls me up, out of my chair, and places a hand on either side of my neck. My hands automatically go to her waist. She uses one of her thumbs to gently stroke along my cheekbone.

"We do what we didn't do last time." She murmurs. "We fight." She presses her lips very lightly to mine for a painfully brief moment. "Now, go sleep."


	42. Chapter 42

Sorry for the relatively short & boring chapter. It's really just a filler chapter. Stuff is going to start happening soon though :). As always, thank you for reading, reviewing, favouriting and subscribing etc. I really appreciate it.

* * *

Convincing Godric to go to ground turned out to be a job and a half. He's worried about leaving me alone, I think. After his old girlfriend visited him, sent by my dead mother, apparently, to warn him that my life is in danger, he would have stayed up all day if I hadn't have somehow convinced him to sleep. He wasn't going to be much use to anyone bleeding all over the place.

I didn't let on, but I'm worried too. More than worried, really. I want to use the word 'terrified' but that would be melodramatic, wouldn't it? Or would it? I don't know. I'm eighteen years old, I shouldn't be dealing with this crap! I know that it comes with the territory, dating a vampire and all, but seriously? I've already almost died at the hands of a crazy reverend.

I feel like I should be taking evasive action, but I don't know what I'm trying to evade. My mom could have given us some more details. Who, What, Where and How, for instance.

* * *

Back at home, Sarah asks me to look after the kids so that she and dad can go out for the day. Normally I'd groan at the prospect - looking after three kids all under the age of ten is difficult - but since I've barely seen them since I started college, I'm happy to. They're all ridiculously pleased to have me home for the summer, anyway, so they're on their best behaviour, thank goodness.

I somehow find myself sat in the middle of the living room, surrounded by Lego blocks, toy cars and Barbie dolls. It's not how I'd normally spend my Saturday afternoon, but I realise that, after a while, I'm actually enjoying myself. I don't have time to dwell on other things, and for that I'm grateful.

Danny and Josh are determined to build a Lego tower as tall as the ceiling. I offered them my help, me being quite a bit taller than them and all, but they waved aside my helping hand, so I'm helping Lucy brush the hair on her dolls instead. It's harder than it sounds. I didn't know how tangled dolls hair could get.

I'm about to ask the three of them if they want to go and get ice cream or something when my attention is grabbed by the word 'vampire'. I look at the TV and find that there's some sort of debate going on. Vampire rights, that sort of thing. It can't be live because the vampire spokesperson, Nan Flanagan I think she's called, is there. Since it's the middle of the day, it must have been pre-recorded.

"Do you like vampires, Thalia?" Lucy pipes up. I had no idea that she even knew what a vampire was, so I'm startled.

"Um," I'm unsure of how I should answer, "I've never really given it much thought." There. That should do. "What about you? Do you like vampires?"

Lucy considers this for a moment before shrugging. "I don't know. I've never met one."

"Would you like to meet one?" I ask her. I'm not offering to introduce her to one, I'd never do that. It's not that I don't trust Godric, but Lucy is a child. She doesn't understand that my relationship with Godric must remain a secret. She could easily forget and tell Sarah or my dad.

"Sure, but daddy would never let me."

"It's only because he loves you, sweetie." That sounds better than 'It's because daddy is a bigot.'

"What about your vampire? Couldn't I meet him?"

If I was startled before, then I'm positively petrified now. I glance over at Danny and Josh but they're too busy building their tower to pay any attention to Lucy and I. "What are you talking about?"

"Your boyfriend. He's a vampire, isn't he?"

"Who told you that, Luce?" My insides have turned to ice. How on earth does she know? Ethan wouldn't have told her. There's more chance of hell freezing over than Ethan telling Lucy about Godric. He wouldn't tell anyone. But then how else would she know? There's no one else that she has access to that knows about Godric.

"I heard daddy talking about it."

_What? _Whatever I was expecting, it certainly wasn't that. Dad can't have been talking about it. It's impossible because he doesn't _know_! If he did then he would have locked me in my room and thrown away the key!

"W-what did dad say about it?" I ask. I try to keep my voice from wavering out of sheer panic. How can this have happened? How could he have found out? I've been so careful, or so I thought. Apparently I haven't been careful enough. What am I thinking? Of course I haven't been careful enough. I wouldn't be surprised if my father had people spying on me. That's how paranoid he is. I'm half expecting him to come home equipped with an arsenal of stakes now, that's if he hasn't already got one.

Lucy shrugs. She's more interested in braiding the hair of the doll she's holding. "Just that your boyfriend is a vampire."

"Whose boyfriend is a vampire?" I realise too late that Josh and Danny have joined the conversation and I grimace. I don't think that this could get any worse than it already is.

"Thalia's!" Lucy says with a smile. Josh and Danny both turn to look at me with open mouths. I decide that it's time to do some damage control.

"No. No, no. My boyfriend is not a vampire. I don't even have a boyfriend!"

Lucy looks confused, bless her. "But dad said…"

"Dad was wrong. I don't know what he was talking about. C'mon guys, do I look like the kind of girl who would date a vampire?" I'm going out on a limb here. It's not like the three of them will have been exposed to many fangbangers. They sometimes show them on tv, the really messed up ones, covered in bite marks and bruises and craving their next hit of V. It isn't really good press for vampires or the people who associate with them. Not all vampires are bloodthirsty, ruthless killing machines, and not all humans who associate with them let vampires walk all over them. I've said it before, it depends on the person. Not the species.


	43. Chapter 43

When Ethan comes home, I almost pounce on him. The moment the door shuts behind him, I grab his hand and drag him into the kitchen. Lucy, Danny and Josh are all watching some programme on the Disney Channel. It didn't take long to change the subject of our conversation. I thank the Lord that kids are so easily distracted.

"What's wrong?" Ethan demands once I've shut the kitchen door behind us.

"Lucy just asked me about my vampire boyfriend."

"What?" He looks dumbfounded. I'm sure that his expression is identical to the one that I was wearing when Lucy asked about Godric.

"She said she heard dad talking about it."

"That's impossible." He says immediately. "If dad knew then we'd know about it."

"I know! That's what I thought. But where else would she have heard it?"

He bites his lip and looks away from me, considering my words. I wonder if he wishes that I'd just chosen to date someone more suitable? Someone human. Things would be so much easier then, surely? I find myself thinking about this more than I'm comfortable with. It's not a choice, though. You don't get to choose who you fall in love with, it doesn't work like that. It just happens.

Aimee once asked me, if I were offered a human replica of Godric, would I take that version of him instead of the vampire one? I'd answered straight away: no. I'd take Godric in whatever form he came to me. In whatever form _he's _most comfortable in. I'd love him no matter what.

"What exactly did she say?" Ethan asks with a frown and I recount the conversation to him. He looks as perplexed as I feel. "None of this adds up." He says. "If dad knew, then he sure as hell wouldn't keep it quiet. We both know that dad acts first and then asks questions later."

"Exactly."

* * *

It's the middle of the night when he comes. I told him not to. I didn't explain the whole my-dad-might-know-about-us scenario. That felt too much like jumping to conclusions. I just said that he didn't need to go out of his way to come and see me, because I was fine. I assumed that he had better things to do, but apparently not.

Dad and Sarah rang hours ago to let us know that they'd be spending the night at a friend's house. I didn't even know that they _had _friends but whatever. Lucy, Danny and Josh all went to bed happily, to my immense surprise, and Ethan went to go shower, so when there's movement outside, I freeze. I don't know what I was expecting. A burglar, perhaps? Or a lost dog? It's quite a surprise when I quietly pull open the door to find Godric. Despite my worrying that my dad knows about my relationship with him, I can't help but smile. My whole being relaxes.

"Hello." He says simply.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. It's not a demanding what-the-hell-are-you-doing-here kind of thing. I just wasn't expecting him is all.

"I wanted to see you." He says. The way he says it, you'd think we hadn't seen each other in years.

"You saw me yesterday." I remind him.

"And before that I hadn't seen you in seven months." He grabs my hand and pulls me outside and into his arms. "It wasn't enough." He murmurs. He looks behind me at the house and seems to consider it for a few moments. "Is your father home?"

"No."

"Will he be home anytime soon?"

"No."

"Well then," he gestures to the open door with a nod of his head, "are you going to invite me in?"

I take one of his hands with mine and step backwards. "Godric," I say as I step inside, still holding his hand, "would you like to come in?"

"It would be my pleasure." He replies as he steps over the threshold.

When we get to the top of the stairs, I glance down the hallway in the direction of Lucy, Josh and Danny's room. I can't imagine that they'll wake up. They normally sleep through the night, so I don't see why tonight would be any different. Thankfully, Godric isn't a particularly loud person, so I don't have to worry about him causing a disturbance. Ethan is still awake, I think. I can see the light coming from beneath his door, but I don't have to worry about him either since he already knows about Godric.

I pull him into my room and close the door behind us. Not for the first time, I wish I had a lock on my door.

I sit on my bed whilst Godric surveys my room. He picks up the framed photo on my bedside table, presumably for a closer look. "Is this your mother?"

"Yeah."

"You look like her."

"I wish. She was beautiful."

Godric turns to me as he sets the photo down. He looks shocked. "So are you."

"No I'm not." I mutter. In the time it takes me to blink, he's moved from where he was stood to the space next to me on the bed.

"You are the most beautiful person I've ever met."

"You can't have met many people then."

He laughs and leans in towards me. "I've met thousands." He assures me. He kisses me very lightly. I make to kiss him back but, to my intense disappointment, he's already pulled away. "Did you miss me?" He asks me abruptly. I know he's not referring to the last twelve or so hours.

"You know I did."

He smiles a small smile. "It's nice to hear you say it, though."

What's this? Is he feeling…_insecure?_ The mere thought makes me want to laugh. He's over two thousand years old and he's _insecure?_ Jesus. "You're an idiot." I say. I wind my arms around his neck with the intention of showing him just how much I missed him when he freezes.

"What's wrong?"

He looks past me, at the door, and then back at me. Slowly, he raises a finger to his lips. "Don't make a sound." He breathes. I'm about to ask again what's wrong, when I hear the front door open. I can hear voices but it's not my dad or Sarah, that I'm sure of.


	44. Chapter 44

My first thought is to alert Ethan of the intrusion so that he can get the kids out of the house and away from whatever danger awaits, but how can I do that without attracting the attention of the intruders?

I'm wondering if I'll be able to get away with switching my light off in an attempt to fool them that nobody's home, but I can hear their footsteps on the stairs. There's no way they won't have seen the light coming from beneath my door.

I look at Godric. He's sitting very still and his face is blank.

"They're here for me." He says. "I can hear them." He continues, answering the question that I was about to ask. I'm about to ask him if he has a plan, because I sure as hell don't, when the top stair creaks, indicating that our visitors have reached the landing. In an instant, he's on his feet and is stood before my door.

"What are you doing?"

"Keeping you safe." He rips the door open with such vigour that I'm surprised he didn't rip it clean off it's hinges. "Boys." He greets them.

"Who're you callin' a boy, you dirty fanger?" I hear from the hallway. I roll my eyes. There's no explaining to men like this that, to a two thousand year old vampire, you most certainly are a boy.

"You're here for me, I believe." He continues, ignoring the fanger comment, though I can tell from the way he stiffens that it bothered him.

"Where's the girl?" A gruff voice asks.

"You leave the girl alone." Godric replies.

"The girl comes too."

Oh? So this isn't just about Godric? Interesting. "I think the girl can speak for herself!" I snap, getting up from the bed and taking my place beside Godric so that I can see the intruders for myself. There's four of them. All middle-aged men. All of them armed with silver chains and stakes. Mhm, lovely. They look vaguely familiar. I can't quite place where I've seen them before.

One of the men, the one who spoke probably, takes a step towards me. Godric grabs his arm, halting him in his tracks. "I said leave her alone." He says in a voice that is so unlike any I've heard him use before, that it scares me. It's cold and unforgiving and I know that if I could see his face, his expression would match perfectly.

"We have orders. She comes too."

"Orders? Who gave you these orders?" Godric demands.

Nobody answers, not that I expected them to. Their front man, the one who's done most of the talking, makes to grab my arm, and presumably drag me kicking and screaming from the house, but just as his fingers make contact with my skin, Godric has him pinned against the wall, his hand wrapped firmly around his neck.

"If you touch her, if you lay so much as a single finger on her, I will reach down your throat, pull your insides out, and strangle you with them. Do you understand me?"

I should have been paying attention to the others. Perhaps if I hadn't been so preoccupied with the way that the man pinned beneath Godric's fist trembled in fear, I might have been able to prevent what happened next.

There was a gunshot. Godric, who was clutching at his head, let out a roar of anger. It inconvenienced him for a couple of seconds at the most, but those couple of seconds gave our attackers enough time to get past him. To get to me.

I brace myself for whatever's about to come. I'm intending to fight, though there's not much I can do against four men armed with guns, stakes and silver chains. I don't get my chance though. One of the men has a wad of cloth clasped over my nose. For a moment, I think he's trying to suffocate me, but all becomes clear as I start to inhale. There's something on the cloth, something sweet-smelling.

Ethan comes out of his room. He takes one look at the scene and begins shouting and gesturing wildly. I can't hear what he's saying. I can barely see him. My vision is rapidly deteriorating. I'm losing consciousness. I try to fight it, I really do, but whatever was on that cloth is too strong. I see both Ethan and Godric staring at me in horror. Godric shouts something, but I can't hear him. That's the last thing I see before my vision goes black.

* * *

_Open your eyes, _a voice tells me. Oh, I don't want to. It's too much effort. I just want to sleep.

_Open your eyes. _Go away, I try to say, but I can't move my mouth. I feel heavy. So heavy. Like I'm sat at the bottom of a swimming pool with bricks tied to my feet.

Involuntarily, I open my eyes. I immediately regret it. The light that floods my vision is too bright and it hurts my eyes. I groan, and I immediately regret that, too. My throat is dry and my groan felt like someone was rubbing sandpaper against my airway. Oh God.

"Thalia?" Comes a gentle voice. I recognise that voice, it's comfortingly familiar.

I make some sort of noise in response to the voice as my eyes adjust to the light and a room slowly swims into focus.

"Thalia." It's Godric, I realise. He sounds strained. I try, with difficulty, to focus on him. We're in a small room with tiled walls. He's sat opposite me in a large chair with silver chains around his ankles, wrists and neck. That's as much detail as I can bear to take in. "Thalia, look at me."

I look at him.

"Sweetheart, look at me," he says again, "don't look away. Keep looking at me. Focus on me." He looks bad. His wrists, neck and ankles are covered in angry red welts. There's a steady trickle of blood coming from his nose and from both ears. He looks exhausted.

"What's going on?" I mutter.

"I-I'm not sure." He admits. "They've been careful not to discuss anything within my earshot."

"How long have I been out?"

"A while." Godric says. "You've been drifting in and out of consciousness for the last couple of hours."

"I have?"

"You don't remember?"

I shake my head and shift in my seat and that's when I realise that Godric isn't the only one that's being restrained. Thick, silver manacles circle my wrists and my ankles. Not my neck, though. I guess they thought that might be nice for Godric to look at as they slowly starve him to death.

"Where's Ethan?" I demand, ignoring the pain in my throat. I remember him coming out of his room and confronting the men before I passed out. There's no way they just left him.

Godric doesn't say anything. He just looks at me, his expression a blank canvas. Of course, I'm immediately alarmed. _Where's Ethan?_

"Where is he, Godric?"

He's silent, but he gives himself away by glancing, involuntarily I think, to the right. I start to turn my head, following his gaze.

"No!" My eyes snap back to him. "Do not look. Please don't look. Look at me." The trouble with being told not to do something, is that you immediately want to do it. In my sluggish state, I don't have the energy resist. I hear Godric groan as my gaze slides to the right.

There's a body. I assume that it's a dead body, if the two gunshot wounds to the chest are anything to go by.

I'm fully aware of the nausea that's rising inside of me. I can feel myself beginning to hyperventilate. I can't help it. I can hear Godric shouting my name, but he may as well be talking to a brick wall for all the attention I pay him. I don't mean to ignore him, but I can't quite drag my gaze away from the unseeing stare of Ethan's.


	45. Chapter 45

The devastation that I felt when I realised that my brother was dead is slowly solidifying into another emotion. I'm not a bad tempered person, so the pure rage that engulfs me is something that is foreign to me. I can't think straight. I can barely see straight! All I know is that I want to find the person who did this to my brother, and I want to kill them. I want to annihilate them.

Godric is talking to me, but I'm not listening. I'm fixated on breaking free of my restraints and going on a murderous rampage which I'm sure that I'll regret in the long run but will make me feel a hell of a lot better.

"W-what are you doing?" Godric asks when I start trying to force my wrists out of the manacles.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I snap.

I think that, if he had the energy, he would have looked surprised, but he just sort of looks at me. For some reason, this enrages me further.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

I don't answer. My gaze has somehow travelled back to Ethan and replying to Godric takes a backseat. I keep expecting him to jump up and laugh at me for believing that he was dead. I know that he won't, though. If he was alive, Godric would be able to hear his heartbeat. My brother is dead.

I'm about to start wrestling with my restraints again when the door opens and in come four men. The ones that brought us here. Under this light, I can see them clearly and it suddenly clicks. I know exactly why they looked familiar.

They were there the night I met Godric. They were the reason I met Godric. The youngest of the men, a sandy-haired, blue-eyed, all-american guy in his early twenties, is the man that hit on me that night in the bar. The one that Godric stood up for me against. The four of them proceeded to kick the crap out of him down a dark alley. Huh, I guess they took their anti-vampire campaign up a notch.

"Hey there, sweetheart." The younger one says to me. He winks and I can tell that he recognises me.

My reply is a lot more colourful and a lot less friendly. This doesn't seem to phase any of them, though.

"Which one of you killed my brother?" I ask. My voice is oddly calm, as am I. My rage hasn't died, it's still there, right under the surface, just waiting to spill over.

The one who hit on me looks over at Ethan in confusion and then back at his comrades with a frown. "It wasn't me."

"Nor me." Says another one. The remaining two shake their heads. I don't believe them. Of course I don't. But I'm outnumbered here. The second I can get my hands on a gun, I'll put a bullet through each one of their heads. See how they like it.

Two of them come over to me whilst the remaining two converge on Godric. I tense, expecting some sort of torture, but instead I find myself being released from the manacles. The guy from the bar pulls me up onto my feet and I almost end up face-first on the floor. I don't know how long it's been since we were taken, but my legs feel like I haven't used them in days.

They don't remove Godric's silver chains, but they haul him to his feet, too. If the look on his face is anything to go by, the silver chains are causing him unimaginable pain.

"Take them off." I demand, though I know I have no authority here. "Take them off. He's not going to hurt you."

"No can do, missy. Boss's orders."

I want to argue, but what can I do? There's four of them - armed and all - and one of me. Godric can't exactly do much since he's all chained up, so what choice do I have but to obey?

They lead us down a dark hallway. The younger man has me by the upper arm, presumably to stop me trying anything. Like I could. One of the others has hold of one end of the chain that is wrapped around Godric's neck and is using it as a lead. It's as demeaning as it is disgusting.

"Where are you taking us?" I ask.

"You'll see."

I glance over at Godric. I don't think he's following the conversation. I imagine that he's in the sort of pain that is so bad that you can't think about anything else but the pain. It hurts seeing him like that. It'd be safe to bet that if the roles were reversed and I was the one being dragged along in the chains, our captors would be dead in half a minute.

"Please take them off." I ask them again, though I know that it's no use. It's all well and good to give them my word that Godric won't hurt them, but why would they do anything to make his life a little easier?

They don't even bother to reply this time. The only response to my question is the sharp tug that the man gives the chain. I can hear Godric's sharp intake of breath, though he tries to hide it. It makes me feel sick.

Who is orchestrating this whole thing? Who are these men working for? My first thought is, obviously, Steve Newlin. Although he is the most likely suspect, I can't help thinking that this is someone else's work.

I hate to admit it. I can hardly bear to even think it, but the only other person that comes to mind is my dad.

I hate myself for thinking it, but after what Lucy said about overhearing him talking about me having a vampire for a boyfriend, it just makes sense. I mean, he's always had a short temper, and finding out that his eldest daughter is dating a vampire would definitely send him over the edge. The last time he thought I was involved with a vampire, he drove all the way to college to confront me. It wouldn't surprise me if he's had people spying on me all year.

Would he, though? Would he do something like this to his own daughter? I don't know. In the dream I had about mom, she said that dad was a bad man, but would he go as far as to do this, just because I'm dating a vampire?

I wish I knew.

We're only walking for a few short minutes, but it feels like hours to me. It probably feels even longer for Godric. The eldest man, the leader, comes to a stop before a set of double doors. He looks around at the rest of us, probably to make sure that Godric is still tethered up, and that I'm still being held in an iron-clad grip. When he sees that we are, he turns back to the doors and pushes them open.


	46. Chapter 46

She's livid. I can feel it. It's unsettling. She's not an angry person. Never has been. But I can feel this pure rage rolling off of her. I want to help her. To comfort her. Console her. But I can barely think. These chains are uncomfortable to say the least. I'm burning. Everywhere. I know that they're only on my neck, wrists and ankles, but I feel like my entire body is bound in chains.

I need to think. I need to come up with some sort of plan. I need to get Thalia out of here but I can't think. _I can't think. _I want to scream. To cry out until someone takes pity on me and drives a stake through my heart. It's wishful thinking.

We're taken into a large, windowless room. I'm thrust forcibly into a corner whilst Thalia is sat down on a chair. It's clear that the way they see it, although she's guilty by association, she's still a thousand times better than I am.

"Don't try anything. She'll be with you soon." One of the men growls at us.

"She?" Thalia calls after their retreating backs. "Who's she?"

The door shuts behind them with a bang and we're left alone. There's a couple of seconds of silence before I hear her get up from the chair and walk slowly over to me. She kneels down in front of me and starts to gently unwind the chains from around my ankles and wrists. She leaves the ones around my neck until last.

"You ok?" She asks after she's unwound the last of the chains.

"I think so. Are you?"

"Yep."

My skin is still burning, but less so now with the absence of the chains. I need blood to heal, but the last thing I'm going to do is ask Thalia for her blood. It's because of me that we're in this mess, and because of me that her brother is dead.

Almost as though she's read my mind, she holds up one of her wrists and offers it to me. The skin is broken and bleeding from where she struggled against the manacles, but still, I wouldn't feel right taking it. I shake my head.

"Just take it, Godric. It's bleeding anyway, might as well put it to use." She snaps. "You're no good to either of us in this state."

She's exhausted. Not just because of the past day or so, but over everything. Me.

Who can blame her? Ten months ago she was an ordinary eighteen year old just starting college. She intended to get involved with a vampire just as much as I intended to get involved with a human; not at all. I took her from her beautifully ordinary human life and thrust her into the dark underworld of the supernatural. I should have left her alone. I was selfish and I couldn't help myself.

* * *

Godric looks at me for an unbearably long moment before taking my bloody wrist against his lips. When he's finished, he goes to bite into his own wrist so that I can take some of his blood and heal, but I shake my head. I don't want it.

I have been so naïve. I was so convinced that love could conquer all obstacles. So sure that if we just fought for each other, then we'd come out the other side smiling. But that was before my brother was killed.

I'm so weak. I hate myself for it, but I am. I'm not the strong, independent heroine of this story. I am not the woman who single-handedly leads her people into battle and emerges from the fight victorious. I am the stupid teenage girl at the beginning of horror films. The girl who thinks she knows everything and ends up minus her head in the first five minutes. The problem here isn't Godric. It's me. These people can see that I'm weak, that I can't defend myself, that he'll be the first one to come running when I'm in trouble and that's why they come after me. It's exactly why Steve Newlin had Chloe kidnap me.

I'm eighteen years old. It never occurred to me that sometime in the very near future I'd be getting staked by a reverend and tied to a chair opposite my vampire boyfriend. Maybe if it had occurred to me I could have done something about it and my brother would still be alive.

If Godric is aware of the turmoil inside my head then he doesn't let on, and for that I'm grateful. I'm about to make my way back to my chair when Godric moves. He moves so fast that I don't actually see it. One moment he's sat against the wall, the next he's stood before the door.

"Someone's coming." He says quietly.

I take my place by his side and wait apprehensively for the door to open. I can hear the sounds of approach too, though not as clearly as he, I'm willing to bet. The men said that 'she' would be with us soon, whoever 'she' is. I'm betting that she's the one in charge of all of this. The one pulling all of the strings. Since it's a she, I guess that rules out my dad. That's a relief.

I'm half expecting Chloe to come swanning in, but as far as I'm aware, Chloe's in Miami with her family. Besides, Chloe isn't into the whole kidnap and murder scene anymore.

The door handle twists and I stiffen. Is the person who's about to walk into this room the same person who killed my brother? Did they pull the trigger?

The door opens and in steps a blonde woman. She's dressed in a black pencil skirt and a white blouse. Her red lipstick is painted to perfection and her eyes outlined with thick, black lashes. She's smiling, which is not at all reassuring. She takes a step forward and I take an involuntary step back. Her smile grows wider. I open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I cannot for the life of me fabricate a single sentence. This woman cannot be the one in charge of things. She is not the one running this. She can't be. It's impossible.

"Don't stare, Thalia. It's rude." Her voice is different. It's sharper than I've ever heard it. She is sharper than I've ever seen her. I can't quite match this image of her with the one I have in my head, the one I've become accustomed to. They don't correspond. _How _can this be possible?

Godric is confused. He's looking between her and me, perplexed. He doesn't need to ask the question that I know he's thinking, but he does anyway.

"Do you know her?" He says to me.

"You could say that." She replies before I can open my mouth. She holds out her hand to Godric, who takes it, albeit somewhat reluctantly. "I'm Sarah. Thalia's step-mother."


	47. Chapter 47

Apologies for the long wait for this chapter. After I finished the last one I realised that I had no idea where to take it from there. I mean, I knew what I wanted to happen, I just had no idea how to get there. Anyway, there's a bit of a time jump between the last chapter and this one. I will be going back to explain what happened inbetween, if anyone was wondering. Oh, the second bit is from Thalia's point of view, if I didn't make that clear which, knowing me, I probably didn't. Also I know that this chapter is badly written and short etc. but whatever. Humour me.

As always, thank you for reading. It means a lot. X

* * *

_Four Days Later_

I thought that the emptiness inside of me would eventually subside, but it hasn't. It's always there, eating away at me. I've tried all manner of solutions to rid me of the cavernous hole inside of me, but so far, none have worked. I should be happy. Happy that she's been able to walk away from me, relatively unscathed, and can now go on to have a normal life. But I miss her. I miss her so _fucking _much. When I think about her, I want to reach into my own chest and pull out my heart, though I doubt even that would make me feel any better.

I've been through my fair share of pain, both physical and emotional, and in turn I've created more than my fair share of pain. After two thousand years on this earth, you'd think I'd be used to it by now, that I would have adapted, if you will.

But no, I can still feel it. It's raw and hot and intense and I don't think that I've ever felt anything worse.

Physical pain is absolutely nothing compared to the long and torturous torment of losing someone you love.

I've been wandering aimlessly for hours, as I do most nights. I'm aware that I've been neglecting my responsibilities as of late, but I can't quite bring myself to care. I thought, at first, that I'd find relief in sleeping. That when I'd go to ground, I'd be granted a reprieve from the crippling heartache, but I was wrong. When I dream, I dream only of her.

I should be happy. We both came incredibly close to dying in that place. Her brother did.

I should be grateful that we were both able to walk away but I've forgotten how to feel anything but pain.

I go home. I have nowhere else to go.

That's a lie. There are a number of things I could be doing at this precise moment. Should be doing. I just don't want to. I don't want to do anything but dwell in my own misery. It's selfish, yes, but I can't bring myself to care.

I sit at my desk for what seems like hours. Hours, minutes, seconds, I honestly don't know. I would have quite easily have sat there, motionless, for days had it not been for the bleeds. The steady trickle of blood that began at my nose and slowly made its way down my face is the only indicator that daytime has arrived with indecent haste, as always. For a few moments I seriously consider walking out of the front door and out into the sun. I want to burn. I want this inner turmoil purged from my mind, and what better way to do it than to physically turn myself to ash?

I don't. But not because I think that my life will get better, that my next positive thought is right around the corner. My reasons for not walking out into the sun are selfish. Selfish and masochistic and probably impossible.

* * *

I'm bored. Hospitals are boring. There's nothing to do and no one to talk to. Unless you count my dad, which I don't. Not that he'd be much fun to talk to if I did count him. He just sits by my bedside. That's it. Just sits. He makes no effort to start any sort of conversation and if I try to start one I'm rewarded with one word answers. It's thrilling, really. I guess maybe he's mad at me for getting myself into this.

I wish I could go home. Apart from a few cuts and bruises I'm fine! It's out of the question, though, apparently. My dad doesn't agree on much with anyone, but he and the doctors are resolutely decided on this point.

I sleep a lot. Mostly because I have nothing else to do. Apparently everyone else has better things to do because the only person who is ever sat by my bedside is my dad. And, as I've already mentioned, he isn't great company.

Maybe he's told them not to come and visit me. That sounds like something he would do. Overprotective dads suck.

I bet he wishes he could keep me here. He'd never have to worry about anything then. Not boys or underage drinking or sex or college. Nothing. He'd love that.

No, that's unfair. He's only protective because he loves me. If he didn't care then he certainly wouldn't be holding a stake-out next to my bed.

I'm about to ask for a glass of water when the door opens. I'm expecting one of my doctors, but instead a tall, pretty, blonde-haired girl around my age enters the room. I don't recognise her. Maybe she's got the wrong room?

"Hey," She says softly, closing the door behind her. She pulls up a chair next to my dad. Who is this girl and why is she in my hospital room? My dad throws her a small smile and I find myself wondering if she's his new girlfriend or something. I suppress a smirk. Sarah would not be happy about that. "How are you doing?" She asks me.

I frown. Who is she and why is she interested in my wellbeing? I'm pretty sure I've never seen this girl before in my life.

"Fine. Thanks."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner. I didn't turn my phone on until I got back."

I think the real question is, why is she here at all? But I don't say that. That would be rude.

There's a few moments of awkward, uncomfortable silence. I don't know what to say. I don't know who this girl is. She, on the other hand, looks like she wants to say something. She keeps throwing sideways glances at my dad, so I guess that whatever she has to say, she doesn't want to say in front of him.

I don't know if he catches on or if it's just incredibly good timing on his part, but he excuses himself quietly and leaves the room. She waits until the door has swung firmly shut behind him before speaking.

"Where's Godric? Is he ok? I've tried ringing him but he won't answer his phone. I didn't want to say anything in front of your dad in case it was still, you know, a secret."

"Who?"


End file.
